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Our statement

Why accessibility is important to us

This accessibility statement applies to www.artscouncil.org.uk.

This website is run by Arts Council England.

We are committed to making our website accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.

We believe that culture is universal in its appeal, and it should be made available to and enjoyed by, everyone, everywhere. That’s why we’ve worked hard to ensure that our website is accessible to people with disabilities. This in turn helps to create a more user friendly experience for all visitors to our site. 

We want as many people as possible to be able to use this website. For 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)

We’ve also made the website text as simple as possible to understand.

AbilityNet has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability.

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Compliance Status

This website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 AA standard, due to the non-compliances and exemptions listed below.

  • Some Background elements receive keyboard focus. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.4.3: Focus Order.
  • Some Visual lists are not marked up as lists. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.3.1: Info and Relationships.
  • Some link names may not be accessible by a screen reader and be descriptive enough to tell a user where that link will take them. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.4.4 Link Purpose (In Context)
  • Some ID attributes or labels use the same value, assistive technologies may skip over the second instance or be unable to recognise a difference between the two elements causing misinterpretations of content or functionality for users. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value - ARIA attributes must conform to valid names

We plan to address each of these issues by the end of 2021, by which time our website platform will have undergone a full redevelopment, with user accessibility at the centre of the changes.  

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What we’ve done to help accessibility

In order to reach a high level of accessibility, we work hard with our partners Abilitynet to follow the international accessibility guidelines provided by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C WCAG 2). In addition, and in recognition of the fact that following the guidelines is just one part of measuring accessibility, we work with real users to find out how people will be using our website, and what else we can do to make it easier to use.  This is a high priority for us and it will remain an essential part of our website and digital strategy.

What we’ve done:

Keyboard accessibility: Any user who has difficulty using their mouse may find it easier to navigate the web using their keyboard. We’ve made sure that all functionality is accessible from the keyboard. 

Screenreader accessibility: Users with little to no useful vision often use software called a screenreader. This reads out onscreen content using synthetic speech, and allows people with little to no useful vision access to website providing they are marked up appropriately. We’ve made sure that input fields in forms are all labeled properly, and user interface elements like tabs, are designed to be accessible for screenreader users. 

Flexible layout: We have designed our website to be responsive, so that it works equally on computers, phones, and tablets. This also allows the site to scale easily as you zoom in, making it more usable. 

Our writing: We are committed to presenting all of our written content in plain English. Find out more about this at gov.uk

In addition, we strive to make the website more usable for everyone by:

  • Making good use of headings, and white space, to make content easier to read
  • Having a consistent navigation structure, so it is easy to tell where you are, and how to get elsewhere
  • Using colours that provide good contrast; particularly important as we recognise that you may be reading our website on your phone and outside in the open
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Feedback and contact information

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 us. You can also request information on this website in a different format like accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille.

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).

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How to adjust your computer to make websites easier to see and use

There are some changes you can make to your computer to make any website, including ours, easier to see and use on your computer, mobile phone, or tablet.  We have listed some useful resource below to help you do this.  You can also take a look at My Computer My Way a resource developed by AbilityNet with support from Microsoft and the BBC as a source of accessibility help for all computer users.  This unique resource explains all the accessibility features available in popular desktop computers, laptops, tablets and smartphones, including Windows, Mac OSX, iOS, Android and Windows Phone. All of these devices have features that enable people to adapt their computer to suit their needs, such as changing the colours and text size or using voice activation. Take a look at My Computer My Way to find out more about what features you could be using.

If you have dyslexia, or difficulty reading content:

You may find that changing the colours on screen, using larger text, or using a different font, will be helpful.  

The following links describe some ways you can adjust your device:

Making text larger

Using a different font

Changing your colours

If you have a vision impairment:

You may find content difficult or impossible to read onscreen. 

A free option, which is built into the majority of devices, is the ability to zoom in on content. On a computer, this can be done in your web browser by holding down the control key (ctrl), and then using the mouse wheel to zoom in and zoom out. Keyboard users can do the same by using ctrl and + to zoom in, and ctrl and – to zoom out. 

Further reading that may be useful: 

Making text larger

Magnifying the screen

Having content spoken outloud to you

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Future plans

We recognise that websites change over time; they evolve as content is added, behaviour changes, and features are added and removed. We know that it is important to ensure accessibility is considered throughout this process.  We will do everything we can to make our website more usable and accessible for everyone and will carry out regular reviews working with disabled and access user groups. 

We would love to have your feedback so that we can continue to improve our website, and help with any difficulties you may encounter.  If you have any feedback or are finding difficulties using our website please contact us.

Working with disabled user groups to improve the accessibility of our website

We work with our partners AbilityNet, a UK charity specialising in digital accessibility and helping people with disabilities, to engage with the disabled community to further improve our website.  So far we have completed testing of our new website to help us follow the W3C WCAG guidelines.  In the near future we will begin actively testing our website by working with disabled user groups to get direct feedback on any usability and accessibility issues affecting our website, and find out users make use of our website. Both of these approaches will mean we really make the site as usable and accessible as possible later this year and improve the overall experience for all of our users.

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Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 17 December 2015. It was last reviewed on 19 July 2021.

This website was last tested on 19 March 2021. The test was carried out by AbilityNet.

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