Engaging Management in Digital Accessibility action

1. Engaging Management in Digital Accessibility action

2. What are the regulations • Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) Accessibility Regulations 2018 • Equality Act 2010

3. Timeline • New Regulations went live Sept 23rd 2018 • New websites (created since the new regs) must be compliant by Sept 23rd 2019 • Existing websites must be compliant by Sept 23rd 2020 • Mobile Applications must be compliant by June 2021

4. Organisational Risks • GDS / EHRC Compliance • Secondary Challenge • Internal Challenge

5. GDS / EHRC Compliance Risk • If you fail to demonstrate adequate documentation or progress of your accessibility journey they may: • impose further specific remedial actions • unlimited damages fine in the same manner as the Equality Act. (NOTE: With WCAG compliance now defined as the standard of reasonable adjustment in the 2018 regulations, it can be an open and shut case of demonstrating your organisations failure to make reasonable adjustments.)

6. Secondary Challenge • Challenges by members of the public through Freedom of Information (FOI). • From September 2019, it will be extremely easy for any member of the public to request: your accessibility statement, info on your auditing process, results of audits, remedial action plans. • If you cannot demonstrate WCAG compliance or the supporting documentation to demonstrate you are actively resolving the problems, you risk an Equality Act challenge with unlimited damages, for your failure to meet reasonable adjustments.

7. Internal Challenge • Risk of internal Equality Act challenges from staff. • As accessibility becomes a more mainstream topic and staff become skilled in delivery accessible services, there may be more Equality Act challenges relating to internal systems that are not accessible.

8. What actions need to be taken • Delivery of Accessibility Statements for your services • Changes to Procurement • Identify Existing Web Estate • Accessibility Auditing and Remedial Action

9. Accessibility Statement The accessibility statement must include: • an explanation of content that is not accessible and why; • where appropriate, a description of any accessible alternatives provided; • a description of, and a link to, a contact form which enables a person to— • notify the public sector body of any failure of its website or mobile application to comply with the accessibility requirement; and • request details of the information excluded under regulation 4(2) and regulation 7(4); and • a link to the enforcement procedure set out in Part 5 of these Regulations to which recourse may be had in the event of an unsatisfactory response to the notification or the request. Must be published by September 2019

10. Changes to procurement Immediately make changes to procurement guidance to ensure that all future digital systems are procured with accessibility written into the contract and tested. • Add WCAG 2.1 Compliance as standard question for all future digital systems. • Ensure that compliance is written into contracts.

11. Identify existing web estate • Undertake a review of our existing web estate to identify the scale of the work required before the September 2020 deadline for all existing websites. • Use this information to prioritise our highest risk sites: • Content focussed or disproportionate impact on disabled users • High use services • Main website and or other websites owned

12. Auditing and remedial action • Start auditing our websites for accessibility compliance WCAG 2.1 AA and begin remedial actions to improve accessibility. • Document thoroughly to defend challenges.

13. What we need from you to mitigate these risks • Additional funding - Do you and your service owners have the funds available to cover staff time and resources for auditing, and costs for remedial action? • Increased resource - Do you need to hire additional expertise? • Endorsement to make significant changes - Do you need your management to invest you with the power to make these changes?