Digital accessibility background
Public sector organisations in the UK must follow accessibility laws. About 1 in 5 people in the UK have a long-term illness, impairment or disability. 20% of the UK population benefits when content is inclusive. The number of people who can benefit increases when you include:
- temporary needs (for example a broken arm or reduced vision)
- situational needs (for example poor lighting or background noise)
- neurodiversity
The UK government has passed two laws relevant to this research:
- The Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) Accessibility Regulations (PSBAR 2018)
- Equality Act 2010
The laws help ensure everyone can engage with public sector websites and mobile apps. The Central Digital and Data Office (CDDO) has responsibility for monitoring compliance.
The 2010 Equality Act replaced the Disability Discrimination Act 1995. The Equality Act is often associated with employee rights. Section 20 requires service providers to make “reasonable adjustments” online. Under both acts, intranets should be accessible. This is to ensure all employees can access information.
Also relevant is the UK Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC)’s Code of Practice on Services, Public Functions and Associations. It sets out what service providers need to do to make their content accessible and avoid discrimination. It reinforces that public sector websites and mobile apps must be accessible. Failure to do so is a breach of the Equalities Act 2010.
The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 sets the digital standards. The guidelines include four key areas:
- perceivable (users must be able to perceive the information)
- operable (the user interface and navigation must be operable)
- understandable (users must be able to understand the information and how to use the user interface)
- robust (content must be robust enough to be interpreted by a wide range of users and assistive technologies)
An accessibility statement is also required. It should say how accessible that platform is. It should also share how to report any accessibility issues.
Some organisations may be exempt. This is usually due to a disproportionate burden. An accessibility statement is still required.
Perceived barriers
In 2021, the CDDO reported on how well the public sector has applied the accessibility regulations. Public sector organisations reported the following barriers:
- lack of awareness about the regulations (55%)
- funding issues (53%)
- lack of accessibility training (52%)
- needing more accessibility guidance (45%)
- difficulties collaborating with contractors (34%)
Only 34% have an in-house accessibility specialist. This means many organisations rely on external services. A lack of resources to fix website accessibility issues is another common barrier. For others, it was hard to motivate organisations to invest in accessibility. And in some cases, the organisation was unwilling to change.
Other forms of digital content make the situation more complex. Communications teams manage content across digital channels. But not all content has legal guidelines. Social media and newsletters are two examples. Social media and newsletters do not have to be inclusive. This can result in an inconsistent approach to communications.
We also found that a lack of leadership was a significant barrier. Priya Bates and Advita Patel’s Building a Culture of Inclusivity book discusses how building leadership capacity can impact and influence cultural change. David Gibson (Accessibility.Works) also highlights leadership as a barrier.
AbilityNet’s 2023 survey found a lack of leadership to be a key barrier as well. 37% of respondents did not know where accessibility responsibility lay in their organisation. And 24% said there was little or no executive-level interest. AbilityNet’s summary report shares more barriers:
- “Our accessibility teams are siloed and not coordinated centrally, with no central support for training.”
- “We have a maturing accessibility practice. However, we constantly encounter people within the business who do not understand the value proposition and push back.”
- “The engagement from senior management has been low. They say the right things but in action, they produce inaccessible documents.”
Building inclusive cultures is a team effort. It requires leadership to influence change. And to build accessible practice into its operating model. This includes funding, staffing and training. And changing to publishing processes and outputs. Lack of digital accessibility leadership is the most common barrier we found.
Inclusive communications 