Accessibility Statement for The UKAEA RACE website

This accessibility statement applies to the whole https://race.ukaea.uk subdomain.

This website is run by the UK Atomic Energy Authority. 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 400% without the text spilling off the screen and without content being truncated or overlapping
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 also made the website text as simple as possible to understand.

AbilityNet has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability.

How accessible this website is

We know some parts of this website are not fully accessible:

Issues potentially affecting everyone

In the Search form, error messages are only displayed for 5 seconds in Chrome. Also, the error message is no longer displayed next to the textbox if the page is scrolled in Firefox.

Issues affecting people with low vision

In the embedded YouTube video on the LongOps page, some of the text and media player controls have low colour contrast.

Issues affecting people who use keyboard navigation

On the LongOps page, the “precise seeking” feature in the YouTube player is accessed by dragging the timeline up with a mouse. This feature cannot be accessed using keyboard controls.
When the Search overlay is closed, the focus moves to the top of the page instead of moving back to the Search button.

Issues affecting screen reader users

The video on the LongOps page contains important visual content that is not included in the audio track, but an audio described version of the video is not provided.
The accordions do not contain headings, so it may be difficult to understand the structure and navigate within the accordion.
Screen reader users can navigate out of the cookie banner without having accepted or rejected cookies. Also, the focus position moves incorrectly when using the “Show more” and “Show less” buttons in the cookie preferences overlay, so the reading order is wrong.
Screen reader users can navigate out of the Search overlay without conducting a search or closing the overlay, so it remains open until the next page is viewed.
The cookie preferences overlay contains a slider switch for accepting or rejecting certain types of cookie, but it is labelled ambiguously so it is difficult to know whether it is on or off.

Issues affecting people using screen magnification

At browser zoom levels of 250% and above, some of the contents of the cookie banner and preferences overlay are not displayed. At 400% browser zoom, almost none of the contents are visible.
Additional content is displayed when hovering over some buttons, but there is no way to dismiss the content without moving the pointer. This occurs with the cookie button, the links at the top of every page, and the dropdown menu in the desktop layout. Since the buttons and the additional content may be large due to the magnification, it may be difficult to view the content behind it.

Feedback and contact information

If you need information on this website as an accessible PDF, please contact us via:

email at contactus@race.ukaea.uk
telephone +44 (0)1235 528 822

We’ll consider your request and get back to you in 5 working days.

Reporting accessibility problems with this website

We’re always looking to improve the accessibility of this website. If you find any problems not listed on this page or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, please email us at contactus@race.ukaea.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).

Visiting us in person

If you contact us before your visit, we can arrange a British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter if required.

Find out how to contact us at https://race.ukaea.uk/contact/.

Technical information about this website’s accessibility

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

Compliance status

This website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 AA standard, due to the non-compliances and exemptions listed below.

Non-accessible content

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

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

The accordions do not contain heading elements, so the semantic structure is not conveyed correctly. WCAG 2.1 SC 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships)

Disproportionate burden

WCAG 2.1 level A

The video contains important visual content that is not included in the audio track, so an audio described version of the video needs to be provided. WCAG 2.1 SC 1.2.3 (Audio Description or Media Alternative (Pre-recorded))
The cookie banner is intended to be a modal dialog, but it is not modal. WCAG 2.1 SC 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships)
The buttons for opening the submenus in the mobile menu are not constructed correctly. WCAG 2.1 SC 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships)
The “precise seeking” feature in the YouTube player is accessed by dragging the timeline up with a pointing device. This feature cannot be accessed using keyboard controls. WCAG 2.1 SC 2.1.1 (Keyboard Navigation)
Numerous single character key shortcuts are active when the focus is anywhere in the YouTube player, rather than when the focus is on specific components. WCAG 2.1 SC 2.1.4 (Character Key Shortcuts)
In the Search form, error messages are only displayed for 5 seconds in Chrome. WCAG 2.1 SC 2.2.1 (Timing Adjustable)
Although JavaScript has been used to trap the focus in the overlay, this does not apply to screen readers in “browse” mode, so they can navigate out of the overlay into the rest of the page. WCAG 2.1 SC 2.4.3 (Focus Order)
When using a screen reader, the focus position moves incorrectly when using the “Show more” and “Show less” buttons in the cookie preferences overlay, so the reading order is wrong. WCAG 2.1 SC 2.4.3 (Focus Order)
When the Search overlay is closed, the focus moves to the top of the page. Instead, it should move back to the Search button that launched it. WCAG 2.1 SC 2.4.3 (Focus Order)
The Search overlay is intended to be a modal dialog, but it is not modal for assistive technologies, so they can navigate into the rest of the page behind the overlay. WCAG 2.1 SC 2.4.3 (Focus Order)
In the cookie preferences overlay, the slider switch does not have a visible text label. WCAG 2.1 SC 3.2.1 (On Focus)
In the cookie preferences overlay, the slider switch has an ambiguous accessible name. WCAG 2.1 SC 4.1.2 (Name, Role, Value)

WCAG 2.1 level AA

The video contains important visual content that is not included in the audio track, so an audio described version of the video needs to be provided. WCAG 2.1 SC 1.2.5 (Audio Description (Pre-recorded))
Some of the text in the embedded YouTube video on the LongOps page has low colour contrast. WCAG 2.1 SC 1.4.3 (Colour Contrast)
At browser zoom levels of 250% and above, some of the contents of the cookie banner and preferences overlay are not displayed. At 400% browser zoom, almost none of the contents are visible. WCAG 2.1 SC 1.4.10 (Reflow)
Some of the media player controls in the embedded YouTube video on the LongOps page have low colour contrast. WCAG 2.1 SC 1.4.11 (Non-text Contrast)
Additional content is displayed when hovering over some buttons, but there is no way to dismiss the content without moving the pointer. This occurs with the cookie button, the links at the top of every page, and the dropdown menu in the desktop layout. In the latter case, the same occurs when the menu links have focus. WCAG 2.1 SC 1.4.13 (Content on Hover or Focus)

We’ve assessed the cost of fixing the issues above. We believe that doing so now would be a disproportionate burden within the meaning of the accessibility regulations. We will make another assessment when the accessibility statement is due to be updated in November 2024.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 03 November 2023. It was last reviewed on 03 November 2023.

This website was last tested on 03 November 2023. The test was carried out by Test Partners Ltd.

We followed GOV.UK guidance on deciding how to check the website as follows:

We used an automated website mapping tool to identify all the pages on the website.
We conducted a manual investigation to find pages that the automated tool cannot find, such as the custom 404 page.
We grouped the pages according to type, such as all the Programmes pages, Collaborate pages etc..
We manually assessed every page to determine the level of consistency within the groups and the type of content on those pages.
We identified a minimum representative subset of pages that contain examples of the most common layouts, components and features, including:
1. The header and footer.
2. Breadcrumb.
3. Search overlay.
4. Cookie banner, button and preferences overlay.
5. Important “unique pages”.
6. Content blocks with text and images.
7. Interactive elements such as forms and accordions.
We conducted a manual WCAG audit on the representative subset of components and pages.
We conducted two rounds of fixing and retesting, such that most WCAG non-conformances have been fixed.
We conducted an automated WCAG test of all pages and a further full test after a round of fixing.