Accessibility
This census is run by the Office for National Statistics. 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 used simple language as much as possible.
AbilityNet has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability.
How accessible is this website?
We know that the following parts of this website are not fully accessible:
- some PDF documents are not fully accessible to screen reader software
- you cannot modify the line height or spacing of text
- some of the bulleted lists may not be fully accessible to screen readers
What to do if you need guidance
Our guidance leaflets about the census are available:
- in Braille
- in British Sign Language (BSL)
- as an easy read version (which uses pictures to explain the census)
- as a Welsh audio
- as large print in English or large print in Welsh
Reporting accessibility problems
We’re always looking to improve the accessibility of this website. If you find any problems that are not listed on this page or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, you can contact us.
Enforcement procedure
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is responsible for enforcing the Public Sector Bodies (Website 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) if you live in England or Wales
- Equalities Commission for Northern Ireland (ECNI) if you live in Northern Ireland
Technical information about this website’s accessibility
The Office for National Statistics is committed to making its website accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Website and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.
This website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 AA standard, due to the non-compliances listed.
Non-accessible content
The content listed is non-accessible for the following reasons. We are planning to fix these issues for Census 2021.
Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations
Some headings do not follow a logical hierarchical structure. Fails on WCAG AAA 2.1 number 2.4.10.
‘Web chat’ opens in a new window, which may be inaccessible for screen reader users. Fails on WCAG AAA 2.1 number 2.4.9.
How we tested this website
This website was last tested on 3 September 2019. The test was carried out by Digital Accessibility Centre (DAC).
We tested:
- browsing the main website home page
- successfully navigating to the questionnaire from the main website homepage
- browsing help content in the main website
- successfully navigating to the questionnaire via the banner on another page on the website
- navigating to and launching Web chat from the contact page
- downloading resources
You can read the accessibility test report from 3 September 2019:
We have also tested for accessibility using Google Lighthouse to audit the website.
What we’re doing to improve accessibility
We will monitor the website and act on the feedback we get from the DAC report and the 2019 Rehearsal in October.
This statement was prepared on 17 September. It was last updated on 17 September.