Accessibility statement

This accessibility statement applies to https://www.hta.gov.uk and all pages within it. This website is supported by Big Blue Door. 

We want as many people as possible to be able to use this website. Most of this website provides legal, regulatory and technical guidance to professionals in the establishments we regulate. We try and make sure website text is as simple as possible to understandFor example, that means you should be able to: 

  • change colours, contrast levels and fonts 
  • zoom in up to 300% without the text spilling off the screen 
  • navigate most of the website using just a keyboard 
  • navigate most of the website using speech recognition software 
  • listen to most of the website using a screen reader (including the most recent versions of JAWS, NVDA and VoiceOver) 

Most of this website is aimed at professionals in the establishments we regulate, providing legal, regulatory and technical guidance. We try and make sure website text is as simple as possible to understand. 

How accessible is the HTA website

Parts of this website are not fully accessible: For example:

  • some pages and document attachments are not written in plain English
  • some tables do not have row headings
  • some documents have poor colour contrast
  • some heading elements are not consistent
  • many documents are in PDF format and are not accessible

Feedback and contact information 

If you need information on this website in a different format like accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille:  

We will consider your request and get back to you in 10 days.

Reporting accessibility problems with this website

We’re always looking to improve the accessibility of this website. If you find any problems not listed on this page or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, please contact the HTA communications team:  

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’re not happy with how we respond to your complaint, contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS), 0808 800 0082.

Technical information about this website’s accessibility

The HTA is committed to making its website accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.  

Compliance status

This website is partially compliant compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 AA standard.  

Non-accessible content

The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons.

Non-compliance with accessibility regulations

  1. Buttons do not have discernible text. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 4.1.2 (Name, Role, Value) We will fix the issue by adding clear and descriptive text to all buttons by September 2023.
  2. Some tables in content do not have table row headers when needed. This means assistive technologies will not read the tables correctly. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships)
  3. Images on some pdfs do not always have suitable image descriptions. Users of assistive technologies may not have access to information conveyed in images. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.1.1 (Non-text Content).

 

Content that’s not within the scope of the accessibility regulations

PDFs and other documents

As a public regulator, we rely on using PDF and other format text documents to capture important information. Many of these documents are essential to providing our services or contain important information not available elsewhere.

Some of our data releases published between 23 September 2018 and 31 August 2021 are not fully accessible. Some of our documents, including our inspection reports are not accessible.

What we’re doing to improve accessibility

In our ongoing commitment to improve accessibility, we have a programme of work to make more documents available in HTML and are ensuring as we publish new content it is accessible.  We are aiming to make sure at least one inspection report is available in an accessible format by the end of 2023.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 06/04/21. It was last reviewed and updated on 27/07/23.  

Our website was last tested in March 2022. The test was conducted by a third-party accessibility audit company, Zoonou. This audit was performed on the website during its Public Beta stage, and no major changes to the design or content have taken place since then that would necessitate a new audit. 

However, we have scheduled a new accessibility audit for August 2023, and we will make necessary updates to our accessibility statement based on the results of this upcoming audit.