Research Accreditation Service - Accessibility Statement
We have accessibility tested the following site:
https://researchaccreditationservice.ons.gov.uk/ons/ONS_homepage.ofml (opens in a new tab)
This service is run by Office for National Statistics (ONS) and has been developed in partnership with Equiniti-Toplevel.
We want as many accredited researchers as possible to be able to use this service.
What we are doing to improve accessibility
This statement was first prepared on 31 January 2020.
To date we have designed the service with accessibility in mind so that, for example:
- all text throughout the site has sufficient colour contrast
- interactive elements have a logical tabbing order
- skip links are provided in many places to enable you to skip to the main content of the page
- no content is lost when text is zoomed to 200%
- error messages are descriptive
- you can navigate most of the website using just a keyboard
- you can navigate most of the website using speech recognition software – for example, using auto-complete attributes
- you can listen to most of the website using a screen reader
- the website text is as simple as possible to understand
We are monitoring use of the service and are keen to hear from users about their experiences. We have a list of future changes we would like to make the service more accessible in 2020 and beyond.
We know some parts of this website are not fully accessible, for example:
- Some interactive elements do not receive a visible focus.
- Heading structure does not always reflect the visible structure of the page.
- Some links in pages cannot be accessed using a keyboard alone.
What to do if you cannot access parts of this website
If you need information on this website in a different format like accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille, then please:
- call 01329 447871
We will consider your request and get back to you in 5 days.
AbilityNet (opens in a new tab) has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability.
Reporting accessibility problems with this website
We are always looking to improve the accessibility of this website. If you find any problems not listed on this page or think we are not meeting accessibility requirements, contact research support using the details above.
Enforcement procedure
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is responsible for enforcing the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018 (the ‘accessibility regulations’). If you are not happy with how we respond to your complaint, contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS) (opens in a new tab)
Technical information about this website’s accessibility
ONS is committed to making its website accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.
This website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 (opens in a new tab) AA standard, because of the non-compliances listed.
Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations
The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons.
Keyboard only usage
Several of the main navigation links cannot be accessed using a keyboard alone – fails success criteria 2.1.1.
An obvious focus indicator is missing on some <input type=”submit”> elements across a range of pages. This may make it difficult for sighted people using keyboards to navigate around the page – fails success criteria 2.4.7.
Use of a screen reader
An absence of ‘ARIA landmarks’ prevents screen reader users from skipping from one section to another and understanding where they currently are located on a page – fails success criteria 1.3.1.
Use of a screen magnifier
Table content broken out of cells and no longer aligned with the table headings when the screen is zoomed to 400%, meaning users viewing the page at this magnification may struggle to understand the table content – fails success criteria 1.4.10
To meet deafness and cognitive needs
No autocomplete attribute had been assigned for the form fields on the ‘Contact details’ sign-up page, this means the user may not be able to utilise autocomplete functionality - fails success criteria 1.3.5
Disproportionate burden
Some accessibility problems are complex and expensive to fix, as they relate to how the core web-based product is designed and used by many different organisations and services, not just ONS.
In this respect we have not yet been able to address issues relating to the following, but will be reviewing this in the coming months:
- add some styling to make the focus indicator more obvious, such as changing the foreground and background colours of the input elements or adding a highly visible border - fails success criteria 2.4.7
- some links do not clearly describe the purpose of the link or which page would be reached if someone followed the link – fails success criteria 2.4.4
- text descriptions not available for non-text content, such as images, to allow people using assistive technologies to understand and enjoy the content on the page - fails success criteria 1.1.1
How we tested this website
This website was accessibility tested on 28 November 2019. The test was carried out by Nomensa.
We decided on a sample of pages to test through discussions between ONS, the development team at Equiniti Toplevel and with guidance from Nomensa, aiming to cover a suitable breadth of user actions and variety in the design of the web pages being accessed. This included the following pages:
- Contact details
- Ethical approval page (file upload modal)
- Research theme (radio buttons)
- Research sponsor (table with edit buttons)
- Data catalogue datasets
- Project details
- Add research sponsor
- Public benefits
- Review and submit
- Project details page (post submission)