Accessibility Requirements for Public Sector Websites

The Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018 aren’t messing about. Councils, NHS trusts and government departments don’t get to choose whether their websites work for everyone. Website accessibility services bridge the gap between legal compliance and actually building something people can use.

Forget the box-ticking mentality. Someone navigating your site with a screen reader should have exactly the same experience as someone using a mouse and when you get that right, everyone wins.

Legal Requirements Under UK Law

WCAG 2.2 Level AA standards apply to every single website and mobile app in the public sector, full stop. We’re talking about legal requirements here, not suggestions that councils and NHS trusts can ignore when budgets get tight.

Think your old content gets a free pass because it predates the regulations? Not quite. Any PDFs, documents or multimedia still being used in active services need updating to current standards, regardless of when they were originally published. The cut-off dates (23 September 2018 for websites, 23 June 2021 for mobile apps) only apply to completely archived content.

Want your website to work for everyone? WCAG 2.2 Level AA gets you there by making sure people using screen readers, voice controls or other assistive tech can actually use your site.

The whole thing rests on four principles that sound fancy but aren’t complicated. People need to perceive your content (not everyone sees things the same way), operate it without a mouse if they can’t use one, understand what’s happening when they click around and trust it’ll work whether they’re on Chrome, Safari or using a screen reader.

Here’s what trips people up though. Every public sector site needs an accessibility statement that’s dead honest about where you stand, what’s broken and when you’ll fix it.

What Counts as Exempt Content

Good news: you don’t have to retrofit everything from the dawn of time. Old audio and video from before September 2020 gets grandfathered in and live streams are exempt too (though chuck in captions if you can manage it).

Maps get a pass on full accessibility, though you’ll need to provide any critical information they contain in another format. Heritage collections dodge these requirements too, but we’re talking genuinely historical scanned documents here, not stuff that’s still part of your current admin processes.

Got PDFs or Word docs published before 23 September 2018? Leave them alone unless they’re still doing active duty as application forms or policy documents. Third-party content you can’t control (think embedded social media feeds) doesn’t count either.

Disproportionate Burden Claims

Public sector bodies can claim “disproportionate burden” when accessibility costs would be genuinely unreasonable, but this isn’t some magic get-out clause you can wave around without proper assessment and documentation.

Weighing accessibility costs against user benefits and your organisation’s resources forms the heart of any disproportionate burden assessment. Updating thousands of scanned documents could qualify if the time and expense would hammer your other services, but you’d better show you’ve properly considered alternatives and documented why you reached that conclusion.

Publishing disproportionate burden claims means you’ll need to stick them in your accessibility statement alongside alternative ways people can get the same information. Don’t expect the regulations to give you much wiggle room though, they’re pretty explicit that this exception gets used rarely and only with rock-solid justification.

Monitoring and Enforcement

Here’s the thing about Government Digital Service audits: they show up unannounced and if you fail, your site gets named and shamed on official government websites. That kind of public embarrassment sticks around long after you’ve fixed the technical problems.

Break accessibility rules and you might find yourself facing Equality Act 2010 violations. Legal action becomes a real possibility, discrimination claims start flying and courts have been pretty consistent about ruling that inaccessible websites count as unlawful discrimination.

Think one audit and you’re done? The GDS comes back to check your progress, which means accessibility can’t be some box you tick at launch and forget about.

Non-compliance with the Equality Act 2010 carries consequences that extend well beyond financial penalties. Government Digital Service monitoring reports are published publicly, meaning accessibility failures become visible to the organisations and individuals you serve. The reputational damage from a public audit failure can undermine years of trust-building with the communities your services exist to support.

Building Accessibility Into Your Website

Building accessibility in from the start beats trying to fix it later. Web development that thinks about accessibility from day one saves you expensive remediation work down the line and creates better experiences for everyone.

Your WordPress setup can cause real problems if you’re not careful about themes and plugins. Some themes completely ignore accessibility standards, while certain plugins throw up barriers for people using assistive technology. WordPress development that prioritises accessibility means your code actually works with screen readers and keyboard navigation.

Technical foundations won’t save you if your content team doesn’t know what they’re doing. Training staff on accessible content creation matters because proper heading structures, meaningful link text and decent alt text all need human judgement that no automated tool can replace.

• Ensure keyboard navigation works throughout the site
• Provide alternative text for all meaningful images
• Use sufficient colour contrast ratios
• Structure content with proper heading hierarchies
• Write descriptive link text that makes sense out of context
• Include focus indicators for interactive elements
• Test with actual screen readers and assistive technologies

Testing and Ongoing Maintenance

Why do automated tools miss so much? They’re brilliant at spotting missing alt text or colour contrast failures, but they can’t tell if your navigation makes sense to someone using a screen reader. Manual testing reveals the real problems, try navigating your entire site using only a keyboard or fire up a screen reader to hear what your users actually experience.

Sites change constantly, which means new accessibility problems creep in all the time. WordPress maintenance services that include accessibility monitoring catch these issues before they become compliance headaches.

Don’t forget the most direct feedback source, your actual users. When someone hits a barrier on your site, you need to know about it fast and fix it faster.

The Business Case for Accessibility

Here’s something interesting: accessible websites work better for everyone, not just people with disabilities. Ever tried reading a website on your phone in bright sunlight? That high contrast text you implemented for visually impaired users suddenly becomes your best friend. Same goes for clear navigation when you’re rushing to find information or keyboard shortcuts when your trackpad decides to quit working.

Those SEO gains you’re chasing? Turns out accessibility improvements often deliver them as a bonus. Search engines love the same things disabled users need: clear heading structures, descriptive link text and content that actually makes sense.

Here’s the business case that usually gets attention. We’re talking about 14 million people in the UK with disabilities who collectively wield serious spending power and inaccessible websites lock them out completely. Public sector organisations still have to serve these users (whether their websites cooperate or not), but accessibility determines if that service is actually usable.

Why bother with accessibility requirements at all? Legal compliance matters, sure, but that’s missing the bigger picture entirely. Public sector websites exist to serve people and when they’re genuinely accessible, they do exactly what they’re supposed to do: give everyone equal access to information and services, regardless of their circumstances or abilities.

Accessible websites consistently perform better for all users, not just those relying on assistive technology. Clear navigation, readable content and well-structured page layouts reduce bounce rates and improve task completion across every visitor segment. Organisations that treat accessibility as a quality standard rather than a compliance burden find their digital services work harder for everyone.

Sure, public sector accessibility requirements look scary at first glance. But here’s the thing, they’re actually your chance to create digital services that work brilliantly for everyone. Get your planning sorted, bring in the right technical support and keep that inclusive design mindset front and centre. What happens? Accessibility stops being a box-ticking exercise and becomes part of genuinely great user experiences.