Accessibility Statement

The website cefmat.org is run by Cefas and designed to be accessible to as many users as possible. You should be able to:

  • zoom in up to 200% without problems
  • navigate most of the website using just a keyboard
  • navigate most of the website using speech recognition software
  • use most of the website using a screen reader (including the most recent versions of JAWS, NVDA and VoiceOver).

Please, note that this accessibility statement website policy does not cover content published on GOV.UK as HTML: the main GOV.UK accessibility statement covers that.

  1. How accessible is cefmat.org

    Parts of this website have scientific and technical content and are not fully accessible. For example:

    • some pages and document attachments are not written in plain English
    • some documents or images might have poor colour contrast
    • some heading elements are not consistent
    • some images do not have image descriptions
    • some error messages are not clearly associated with form controls
    • some documents are in PDF format and are not accessible
    • some outputs from models and data are not in fully accessible formats

    We will update the statement when issues are fixed or when we expect them to be fixed.

  2. Feedback and contact information

    Contact accessibility@cefas.co.uk if you have an accessibility issue using the website or need information in a different format.

    In your message, include:

    • the web address (URL) of the content
    • your email address and name
    • the format you need.

  3. Enforcement procedure
    • If you contact us with a complaint and you’re not happy with our response contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS).
    • 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’).

  4. Technical information about this website’s accessibility

    Cefas is committed to making its websites accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.

  5. Disproportionate burden

    We believe that fixing the accessibility problems with some content would be disproportionate because the relevant platform will be retired or replaced soon. This is true for some of the data and publications outputs which are up for review and Cefas will aim to make them accessible as they are updated.

  6. How we tested this website

    We use the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines V2.1 level A and level AA to test how accessible cefas.co.uk is.

  7. What we’re doing to improve website content accessibility

    We have already fixed and will continue to fix content which fails to meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 AA standard. In the past year, we have made it easier to navigate using a keyboard, added alt text for screen readers and updated the site to ensure a better experience when zoomed in. We will update this page when issues are fixed.

  8. Accessible documents at cefmat.org

    This policy explains how accessible the documents published in cefmat.org are.

    1. Using documents published at cefmat.org

      Cefmat.org publishes few documents in a PDF and Microsoft excel formats. We want as many people as possible to be able to use these documents. For example, when we produce a document, we:

      • provide a HTML option where possible
      • avoid using tables, except when we’re presenting data
      • write in plain English - although some content contains technical or legal language
      • include text alternative alongside non-decorative images, so people who cannot see them understand what they’re there for
      • tag headings and other parts of the document, so screen readers can understand the page structure
      • make document titles clear and meaningful
      • use descriptive link text so people understand the purpose of each link
      • avoid writing instructions that rely on visual cues
      • provide descriptive text transcripts for videos

      This policy explains how accessible the documents published in cefmat.org are.

    2. How accessible our documents are:

      Documents we publish you need to download or fill in to access one of the services we provide should be accessible.

      We know that some of our older documents (published before 23 September 2018) are not fully accessible. This mostly applies to the technical and research analysis content:

      • are not tagged up properly - for example, they do not contain heading structure
      • are not written in plain English
      • contain images without a textual description

    3. What to do if you cannot use one of our documents:

      Some documents are exempt from the regulations, so we do not currently have any plans to make them fully accessible. However, if you need to access information in one of these document types, you can contact us at accessibility@cefas.co.uk and ask for an alternative format.

    4. Reporting accessibility problems with one of our documents

      We’re always looking to improve the accessibility of our documents. If you find any problems that are not listed on this page or you think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, contact accessibility@cefas.co.uk. Our digital content team will look into your comments.

  9. Non accessible content

    The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons.

    1. Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

      Some of our website content and documents have diagrams or maps with no text alternative. The information in these diagrams 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 all diagrams.

      Some of our website content and documents have diagrams or maps that do not meet the colour contrast ratio of at least 3:1. These diagrams or maps may be difficult to see, or completely missed, by people with a visual impairment. This does not meet WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.4.11 (non-text contrast). We plan to fix our diagrams to meet colour contrast requirements.

      A few of our website content and documents have diagrams or maps that use colour as the only means of conveying information. The information in these diagrams or maps may not be perceived by users with colour vision deficiencies. This does not meet WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.4.1 (use of colour). We plan to fix this so information is not only conveyed through colour, but also by another visual means.

      Some of our website content cannot be operated through a keyboard or keyboard interface. This does not meet WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.1.1 (keyboard). We plan to fix forms to meet the keyboard requirements.

      Some of our documents are published in an unstructured PDF. Headings, list items and paragraphs may not be recognised by a screen reader. This does not meet WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.3.1 (info and relationships). We plan to fix the documents and publish them with the appropriate structure.

      Some of our spreadsheets may not be clearly structured with labelled tables, and labelled headings. Column headings may be blank. Workbook tabs may not have a clear title. This does not meet success criterion 1.3.1 (info and relationships). We plan to fix the documents and publish them with the appropriate structure.

      Some of our documents are published using tables to lay out text in columns on the page. This often hides content from the navigation pane or table of contents. This does not meet success criterion 2.4.6 (headings and labels) or success criterion 1.3.1 (info and relationships). We will make sure that tables are not used to lay out text.

    2. Disproportionate burden

      We have:

      • reviewed our documents published on cefmat.org since 23 September 2018
      • identified that it would be a disproportionate burden to make all website content and documents fully compliant
      • fixed documents that are most used and are essential to providing our main services

      This means that some of the following types of content are not fully compliant:

      • website content and documents aimed at a small and specialised technical audience
      • spreadsheets which include macros and can’t easily be produced delivered in a different format

      Contact us if you need these documents in an alternative format at the following email address: accessibility@cefas.co.uk.

    3. Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

      Some of our website content and documents have diagrams or maps with no text alternative. The information in these diagrams 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 all diagrams.

      Some of our website content and documents have diagrams or maps that do not meet the colour contrast ratio of at least 3:1. These diagrams or maps may be difficult to see, or completely missed, by people with a visual impairment. This does not meet WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.4.11 (non-text contrast). We plan to fix our diagrams to meet colour contrast requirements.

      A few of our website content and documents have diagrams or maps that use colour as the only means of conveying information. The information in these diagrams or maps may not be perceived by users with colour vision deficiencies. This does not meet WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.4.1 (use of colour). We plan to fix this so information is not only conveyed through colour, but also by another visual means.

      Some of our website content cannot be operated through a keyboard or keyboard interface. This does not meet WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.1.1 (keyboard). We plan to fix forms to meet the keyboard requirements.

      Some of our documents are published in an unstructured PDF. Headings, list items and paragraphs may not be recognised by a screen reader. This does not meet WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.3.1 (info and relationships). We plan to fix the documents and publish them with the appropriate structure.

      Some of our spreadsheets may not be clearly structured with labelled tables, and labelled headings. Column headings may be blank. Workbook tabs may not have a clear title. This does not meet success criterion 1.3.1 (info and relationships). We plan to fix the documents and publish them with the appropriate structure.

      Some of our documents are published using tables to lay out text in columns on the page. This often hides content from the navigation pane or table of contents. This does not meet success criterion 2.4.6 (headings and labels) or success criterion 1.3.1 (info and relationships). We will make sure that tables are not used to lay out text.

    4. Content that is not within the scope of the accessibility regulations

      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.

      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 documents contain maps. This does not meet a number of WCAG 2.1 success criterion, including 1.3, 1.4, 2.4, 2.5, 3.1 and 3.2. These types of documents are exempt from the regulations, so we do not currently have any plans to make them accessible. We will consider the use of maps in our documents and provide a text alternative if appropriate.

      Any new PDFs or Word documents we publish we plan to meet accessibility standards.

    5. How we tested our documents

      In January 2020 we audited all documents published since 23 September 2018. The Defra content team carried out the audit. As part of the audit, we tested the download formats provided by cefmat.org: PDF documents and Microsoft Excel documents to find accessibility issues.

    6. What we are doing to improve documents accessibility
      • updating PDF templates to an accessible format (except where we have determined that to do so would be a disproportionate burden)
      • providing content as HTML rather than PDF where possible
      • providing guidance documents from PDF to HTML and making them task based
      • raising awareness across the organisation of the accessibility requirements
      • training staff on meeting accessibility standards
      • getting appropriate software to make accessible PDFs
      • testing with disability networks and assistive technology software

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This page was prepared in October 2021.