Accessible documents policy
This accessibility statement applies to documents published by Public Health England (PHE).
This policy explains how accessible the documents Public Health England (PHE) publishes on GOV.UK are. It covers PDFs, spreadsheets, presentations and other types of document. It does not cover content published on GOV.UK as HTML: the main GOV.UK accessibility statement covers that.
Using our documents
PHE publishes documents in a range of formats, including HTML, PDF, open document formats and print. We want as many people as possible to be able to use those documents. For example, when we produce a document we make sure to:
- provide an HTML option where possible
- tag headings and other parts of the document properly, so screen readers can understand the page structure
- make sure we include alt text alongside non-decorative images, so people who cannot see them understand what they’re there for
- avoid using tables, except when we’re presenting data
- write in plain English
How accessible our documents are
New documents we publish should be fully accessible. In particular, documents you need to download, or complete, to access one of the services we provide.
However, we know that some of our older documents (published before 23 September 2018 when the act came into force) are not accessible. For example, some:
- are just photocopies and are not marked up in a way that allows screen reader users to understand them
- are not tagged properly, so for example do not contain proper headings
- are not written in plain English
This mostly applies to our PDFs and other documents published before 23 September 2018 and may include:
- externally produced elements
- graphics in uneditable formats such as image files
- copies of statutory documents and letters
These types of documents are exempt from the The Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) accessibility regulations. We do not currently have any plans to make them accessible.
If you need to access information in one of these document types, contact us for an alternative format.
What to do if you cannot use one of our documents
If you need a document we’ve published in a different format:
- email publications@phe.gov.uk
- write to:
PHE Publishing
Public Health England
61 Colindale Avenue
London
NW9 5EQ
We’ll consider the request and get back to you in 15 working days.
Reporting accessibility problems with one of our documents
We’re always looking to improve the accessibility of our documents. If you find any problems not listed on this page or you think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, contact: publications@phe.gov.uk
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).
Technical information about the accessibility of our documents
PHE is committed to making our documents accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.
The documents PHE publishes are partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 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
Some of our PDFs are not accessible as they are not tagged properly.
Some PDFs and Excel documents fail on the perceivable and operable WCAG 2.1 criteria.
For PDFs that fall within this category and do not represent a disproportionate burden (published after 23 September 2018), we will look at updating them by September 2020
For Excel documents, we will ensure we are providing CSV and open document alternatives where possible.
Some of our documents are scans. We will update these with accessible documents by September 2020.
Some of our documents are presentations. We will update these with accessible documents by September 2020.
A few of our older documents have diagrams and other imported graphic content. These images do not always have a text alternative, so the information in them is not available to people using a screen reader. This does not meet WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.1.1 (non-text content).
We plan to add text alternatives for most diagrams by September 2020 in respect of documents accessed on a regular basis and for any documents that are updated thereafter. When we publish new documents we’ll make sure our use of diagrams meets accessibility standards.
Disproportionate burden
There are lots of historic PDF documents on our website. We have reviewed and prioritised our documents. We aim to fix those that are most used and are essential to providing our services.
The vast majority of the documents are of historic interest only and we do not intend to make them accessible. If you want a particular document in an accessible format email enquiries@phe.gov.uk, and we will see if we can help.
Content that’s not within the scope of the accessibility regulations
Many of our older PDFs and Word documents do not meet accessibility standards - for example, they may not be structured so they’re accessible to a screen reader. This does not meet WCAG 2.1 success criterion 4.1.2 (name, role, value).
Some of our PDFs and Word documents are essential to providing our services. For example, we have PDFs with information on how users can access our services, and forms published as Word documents. By September 2020, we plan to either fix these or replace them with accessible HTML pages where appropriate.
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 regular infection PDF reports that have been superseded.
Any new PDFs or Word documents we publish will meet accessibility standards.
How we tested our documents
We last tested a sample of our documents on 29 April 2020. The test was carried out by PHE Publishing. We tested:
- multiple-page PDF guidance reports with images and graphics
- user entry field Word forms
- infographics
- easy read illustration-led content
- regular data reports with tables
- scans
- Excel files
- PowerPoint presentations
These comprised a cross-sampling of our very substantial range of published content. They focussed on content most likely to raise accessibility issues, for instance:
- complex scientific publications
- highly visual documents for people with learning disabilities
- forms that have to be completed
What we’re doing to improve accessibility
As a health organisation, PHE is committed to fully meeting all the accessibility criteria specified in the regulatory provisions. We also recognise that given the many documents we have already published (over 1000 per year), updating all our historic content would require a diversion of resources away from the delivery of our current services. We will make continuous assessments as to which publications we should focus on by analysing usage data, both qualitative and quantitative. We will make retrospective amendments on a rolling basis up to and after the September 2020 deadline. Much of our content that fails to meet accessibility standards does so because of the high volume of illustrative content. We shall seek to apply alternative text as a specific priority.
This page was prepared on 22 June 2020. It was last updated on 2 July 2020.