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The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities has made it illegal for public bodies to publish inaccessible publications.
In addition, the Equality Act 2010 says that digital services must be accessible to everyone who needs it - and this includes attachments, images and infographics.
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Publishing inaccessible content risks reputational damage and legal action for PHE.
Making GOV.
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It's a common misconception that certain publications do not need to be made accessible. Here are a few of the common arguments:
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This document only has a niche audience of scientists and researchers - they don't have accessibility requirements. |
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We've always published this information in this format - and we've always had really positive feedback. |
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There's a need to publish in an inaccessible format in order to represent the information clearly, or in a visually appealing way |
Accessibility is now the first and foremost consideration for any web publications from public sector bodies, no matter how the publications have previously been designed or released.
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UK pages and documents accessible benefits all users
Making our pages and publications accessible has a time and effort cost associated to it.
It means that we need to find new ways of doing things.
Re-think how we design and publish long-standing documents.
But it makes GOV.UK better to use for everyone. User research shows that accessible websites are overwhelmingly preferred by all users, not just those with disabilities.
They are:
- easier to use
- simpler and more straightforward to navigate
- compatible with all kinds of software