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ICO accessibility statement

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Introduction 

This statement applies to all content published on the ico.org.uk domain, which is the website of the Information Commissioner’s Office. It includes the public register of fee payers, data protection fee payments, and data protection fee renewals and the search pages. 

The website is run by the Information Commissioner’s Office. We want as many people as possible to be able to use this website. 

The text should be clear and simple to understand. You should be able to: 

  • zoom in up to 400% without problems; 
  • navigate most of the website using just a keyboard;
  • navigate most of the website on different devices; and 
  • navigate most of the website using speech recognition software or screen readers 

Some of our website is available in the Welsh language, which you can access using the language selector on our website, or via our Wales office on 0330 414 6421. 

If you need to contact us via the phone and you are deaf or have a hearing or speech impairment, you can use the free BT service Relay UK. Install the free app on your smartphone, tablet, or computer, which you can access on your app store. Then our advice line on 0303 123 1113, Mon - Fri, 9am-5pm. The Relay UK service itself is free. You'll only pay your normal charges for the calls.

How accessible this website is 

The ICO is dedicated to making the website as accessible as possible. We work to continually improve and enhance the website for users with accessibility requirements. 

We know some parts of this website are not fully accessible: 

Main ICO website (ico.org.uk) 

  • Information published through Microsoft Power BI contains a number of accessibility issues that may impact users, particularly to users with screen readers.
  • Certain elements of our digital assist are not accessible, particularly to users with screen readers.

Data protection fee payments 

  • The progress bar is not fully accessible to screen readers.
  • Elements of the form that are related to each other are not grouped together.
  • User with screen readers are not made aware when hidden content is revealed.
  • Users are unable to extend or turn off time limit.  

ICO search 

  • Elements are not labelled or tagged correctly, this will impact keyboard only users. 

Public register 

  • Some text does not have high enough contrast with the background, which may impact users with a visual impairment. 
  • Some links are not clearly identifiable, which may impact users with a visual impairment.

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, contact the ICO’s website 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). 

Contacting us by phone or visiting us in person 

If you require any service adjustments such as documents in different formats or interpretations or translation services please contact us or call our helpline on 0303 123 1113. We will deal with each request on an individual basis. 

Our offices in Wilmslow have a loop system and accessible parking. If you require any further reasonable adjustments or our visiting our regional offices please send your requests to the staff member arranging your visit. All requests are dealt with on an individual basis. 

Technical information about this website’s accessibility 

The Information Commissioner’s Office 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 with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 AA standard, due to the non-compliances listed below. 

Non-accessible content 

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

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations 

We use Microsoft Power BI to publish information about data security incidents reported to the ICO. This feature does not meet the accessibility standards in the following ways: 

  • No clear programmatic name in the frame. This fails WCAG criteria 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value.
  • Frame doesn’t reflow when zoomed in at high levels. This fails WCAG criteria 1.4.10 Reflow.
  • Buttons are missing labels and some are not in tabbing order. This fails WCAG criteria 2.1.1 Keyboard and 2.1.3 Keyboard (No Exception).
  • New slides are not announced and do not receive focus. This fails WCAG criteria 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value and 2.4.3 Focus Order.
  • Content in text boxes is not read aloud. This fails WCAG criteria 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value.
  • It is not possible to manipulate the presentation and styling of text content within the PowerBI visualiser beyond zooming in and changing colours. This fails WCAG criteria 1.4.12 Visual presentation of text.

We plan to review these issues in 2024.

Our digital assist does not meet the accessibility standards in the following ways: 

  • For a screen reader user, the digital assist answer blocks have no clear structure – everything is read out in one big block, or tabbing through the answer content just keeps moving through the options without using the sideways arrows (these are not keyboard operable). This fails WCAG criteria 1.3.1 Information and relationships.
  • The digital assist contents remain in the keyboard tabbing order even when the digital assist is collapsed. This fails WCAG criteria 1.3.1 Information and relationships.
  • A few buttons in the digital assist have no visible focus indicator. This fails WCAG criteria 2.4.7 Focus visible.
  • Visible focus on the user’s messages in the digital assist (when tabbing through the conversation) is unclear. This fails WCAG criteria 2.4.11 Focus appearance.
  • Digital assist responses are not announced clearly. This fails WCAG criteria 4.1.2 Name, role and value.

We plan to review these issue in 2024.

Our search pages do not meet the accessibility standards in the following ways: 

  • Filters are applied automatically and focus returns to the top of the page. This fails WCAG criteria 2.4.3 Focus Order and 3.2.2 On Input.

We plan to review potential solutions to 2.4.3 and 3.2.2 in 2024.

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

Some of our older PDFs (modified before September 2018) do not meet accessibility standards. For example the content is not structured or tagged correctly or is not fully accessible to screen readers. 

The accessibility regulations do not require us to fix PDFs or other documents published before 23 September 2018 if they’re not essential to providing our services. For example, we do not plan to fix old consultation responses, minutes or decision notices. 

Preparation of this accessibility statement 

This statement was prepared on 23 September 2020. It was last reviewed on 15 May 2024. Our use of embedded videos, PowerBi and a chatbot was audited in March 2023 by a third party provider. It was last tested on 09 May 2023. The test was carried out internally using the third party quality assurance platform Silktide, which is able to review the full site in line with WCAG 2.1A succession criteria. You can read the  full accessibility test report.

WCAG 2.2 level AA was launched in 2024. Until October 2024 we will monitor accessibility of websites and apps to WCAG 2.1 level AA (in line with the Government Digital Service).