How to Write an Accessibility Statement

Publishing an accessibility statement isn’t optional if you’re a UK organisation providing public services. Website accessibility became a legal requirement, not just something nice to have. Your statement needs to spell out exactly how accessible your site is and what you’re doing when users hit barriers.

What’s an accessibility statement actually for? It’s your way of showing users you’re serious about inclusive design, being upfront about where your site falls short and giving people clear ways to get help when things don’t work. Public sector bodies have to publish one under the 2018 regulations, but private companies use them to prove they care about inclusion too.

You need to understand both the legal side and what users actually need. Build trust by getting it right, or risk compliance headaches and frustrated users by getting it wrong.

Legal Requirements for UK Organisations

Under the Equality Act 2010, service providers must make their offerings accessible to people with disabilities. Digital services count just as much as physical ones, so if you serve the public, your service needs to work for everyone.

Got a public sector website? Then you’re not just encouraged to have an accessibility statement, you’re legally required to. Regulation 8 of PSBAR 2018 makes it crystal clear that all public sector websites and mobile apps need one.

Public sector organisations must publish accessibility statements that explain compliance status, identify barriers and provide contact information for reporting issues. Getting this right from the start saves significant time and avoids the need for costly remediation later.

Any organisation spending public money or delivering government services falls under this.

• Local councils and combined authorities
• NHS trusts and foundation trusts
• Police forces and emergency services
• Courts and tribunals
• Universities and colleges
• Schools and academy trusts
• Public libraries and cultural institutions

PSBAR doesn’t spell out WCAG requirements word for word, but here’s the thing, stick to WCAG 2.2 Level AA standards and you’ll tick all the right boxes for UK accessibility law. Private companies don’t have to publish statements legally, though plenty do anyway because it’s the right thing to do.

Content Requirements for Accessibility Statements

Don’t even think about writing your statement until you’ve properly audited your site first. Professional accessibility auditing services will spot the gaps you’d miss and give you the technical ammunition your statement actually needs.

What happens if you miss the required elements from your accessibility statement? UK legislation spells out exactly what needs to be there and leaving gaps puts you straight into non-compliance territory.

Start with the GOV.UK model accessibility statement. We’ve seen teams reinvent the wheel here when they don’t need to. This template ticks every legal box and uses language that actually makes sense to people who aren’t developers (which includes the disabled users who’ll be reading it to figure out if your service works for them).

Compliance Status Declaration

Don’t cherry-pick your best pages when declaring compliance status.

• Full Compliance: You meet all WCAG 2.2 AA requirements without exceptions
• Partial Compliance: Most requirements are met, with documented exceptions
• Non-Compliance: Significant accessibility barriers exist across the service

Partial compliance is where most organisations land and that’s fine. Just be upfront about what’s broken and show you’ve got plans to fix it.

Documenting Non-Accessible Content

Don’t pretend everything’s perfect when it isn’t. Honesty about accessibility barriers actually builds more trust than those vague “we’re committed to accessibility” statements. When you’ve got issues, spell them out with proper WCAG references: “Some product images lack alternative text, which fails to meet WCAG 2.2 AA criterion 1.1.1 Non-text Content.”

Be specific about accessibility barriers. Vague statements like “some content may not be accessible” provide no useful information to users.

Why might your content fail accessibility checks? Three categories cover most situations.

• Non-Compliance: Content that fails WCAG requirements and needs fixing
• Disproportionate Burden: Fixes that would cost more than your annual budget and provide minimal accessibility benefit
• Out of Scope: Third-party content you cannot modify, such as embedded social media feeds

Implementation and Maintenance

Keep that statement current or it becomes useless fast. Content updates happen daily, new features roll out monthly and design tweaks pop up whenever someone decides the blue needs to be slightly bluer. Any of these changes can create fresh barriers or (hopefully) fix the ones you’ve been wrestling with for months.

Stick it somewhere obvious. Website footer works well, right next to your privacy policy and terms of use where people expect to find this stuff. Got a mobile app? Put the statement on your main website or squeeze it into those app store descriptions that nobody reads but everyone expects to be there.

Contact and Response Procedures

Someone needs to own this stuff and they need actual power to fix things. We’re talking about authority to commission fixes, bump issues up the development queue or sort out workarounds when needed. Don’t forget response times in your contact details because people want to know they’re not shouting into the void.

Write down how accessibility reports actually move through your business. Your WordPress development and web development teams need clarity on who handles what and how fast different problems get tackled.

Enforcement and External Oversight

External enforcement matters too. The Equality and Human Rights Commission handles accessibility regulations across England, Scotland and Wales, working through the Equality Advisory and Support Service as their designated enforcement body.

Different rules apply in Northern Ireland where the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland takes charge.

Review your accessibility statement at least annually and after any significant service changes. Outdated statements can mislead users and create compliance risks.

Keep checking your statement actually reflects what’s happening on your site. Content changes, new features get added, whole sections might get redesigned and suddenly your accessibility statement’s telling a different story to what users actually experience. Users and regulators both notice when your commitment to accessibility looks like an afterthought rather than something woven into every update you make.

Building accessibility checks into your regular processes stops problems before they start. Professional support through audits, team training or ongoing website support and maintenance means you’re not scrambling to fix barriers after they’ve already frustrated users.