Accessibility

Accessibility statement for Consultation Hub

Website accessibility statement inline with Public Sector Body (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018

This accessibility statement applies to: https://consultation-hub.ed.ac.uk

This website is maintained by Stakeholder Relations and Governance and Strategic Planning at the University of Edinburgh. We want as many people as possible to be able to use this application. For example, that means you should be able to:

  • Customise most of the website using browser settings
  • Zoom in up to 400% without the text spilling off the screen or without loss of content
  • Navigate most of the site using keyboard only
  • Navigate most of the site using speech recognition software e.g. Dragon
  • Use the website without encountering any cognitive function tests
  • Use the website without encountering any inactivity time outs

We’ve also made the website text as simple as possible to understand. However, some of our content is technical, and we use technical terms where there is no easier wording we could use without changing what the text means.

Customising the website

AbilityNet has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability. This is an external site with suggestions to make your computer more accessible:

AbilityNet – My Computer My Way

With a few simple steps you can customise the appearance of our website using your browser settings to make it easier to read and navigate:

Additional information on how to customise our website appearance

If you are a member of University staff or a student, you can use the free SensusAccess accessible document conversion service:

Information on SensusAccess

How accessible this website is

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

  • Some colour contrasts do not meet minimum requirements
  • Links are not underlined by default, meaning some links are conveyed by colour only
  • Links do not always have meaningful hypertext or are naked URLs
  • Headings are not always used on the site
  • Focus displays sometimes have colour contrast issues or are missing altogether
  • Compatibility with screen-readers (such as JAWS) may be limited due to buttons not being labelled correctly
  • Navigation by voice (using Dragon) may be limited due to lack of selection displays
  • Some images that are also links, do not have link information
  • Tooltips may not be shown when navigating by keyboard or by assistive software (on PDFs)
  • Some content moves when hovered over or interacted with and this cannot be stopped or paused by the user
  • Some text content makes the use of italics, continuous capitals and use of serif fonts
  • Some text content makes use of underlining for content which does not contain links
  • There are PDFs that are not fully accessible
  • Not all images have alt text

Feedback and contact information

If you need information on this website in a different format, including accessible PDF, large print, audio recording or braille:

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

Reporting accessibility problems with this website

We are 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 contact:

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

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 please contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS) directly:

Contact details for the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS)

The government has produced information on how to report accessibility issues:

Reporting an accessibility problem on a public sector website

Contacting us by phone using British Sign Language

British Sign Language service

Contact Scotland BSL runs a service for British Sign Language users and all of Scotland’s public bodies using video relay. This enables sign language users to contact public bodies and vice versa. The service operates from 8.00am to 12.00am, 7 days a week.

Contact Scotland BSL service details.

Technical information about this website’s accessibility

The University of Edinburgh is committed to making its websites and applications 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 (WCAG) 2.2 AA standard, due to the non-compliances listed below.

The full guidelines are available at:

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 AA standard

Non accessible content

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

Noncompliance with the accessibility regulations

The following items to not comply with the WCAG 2.2 AA success criteria:

The website is under our control and we expect significant enhancements by June 2026. We will seek to optimise the site to maximise accessibility, where possible

Disproportionate burden

We are not currently claiming that any accessibility problems would be a disproportionate burden to fix.

Content that’s not within the scope of the accessibility regulations

At this time, we believe no content is outwith the scope of the accessibility regulations.

What we’re doing to improve accessibility

The website is under our control and we expect significant improvements by June 2026. We are working on an ongoing basis to improve accessibility.

While we are in the process of resolving these accessibility issues, we will ensure reasonable adjustments are in place to make sure no user is disadvantaged. As changes are made, we will continue to review accessibility and retest the accessibility of this website.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on the 28th of May 2025. It was last reviewed on the 9th of June 2025.

The website was last tested in May 2025. The testing was carried out by Disability Information Team at the University of Edinburgh using both automated and manual methods. The site was tested on a PC, primarily using Microsoft Edge alongside Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome.

Recent world-wide usage levels survey for different screen readers and browsers shows that Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and Microsoft Edge are increasing in popularity and Google Chrome is now the favoured browser for screen readers:

WebAIM: Screen Reader User Survey

The aforementioned three browsers have been used in certain questions for reasons of breadth and variety.

We ran automated testing using AXE browser extension (for Google Chrome) and then manual testing that included:

  • Spell check functionality;
  • Scaling using different resolutions and reflow;
  • Options to customise the interface (magnification, font, background colour, etc);
  • Keyboard navigation and keyboard traps;
  • Data validation;
  • Warning of links opening in new tab or window;
  • Information conveyed in the colour or sound only;
  • Flashing, moving or scrolling text;
  • Use with screen reading software (for example JAWS);
  • Assistive software (TextHelp Read and Write, Windows Magnifier, ZoomText, Dragon Naturally Speaking, TalkBack and VoiceOver);
  • Tooltips and text alternatives for any non-text content;
  • Time limits;
  • Compatibility with mobile accessibility functionality (Android and iOS);
  • Any drag functionality and alternatives;
  • Consistent help function;
  • No need to re-enter data already submitted;
  • Any cognitive tests.

Change Log

9th June 2025

  • Removed use of strikethrough
  • Improved contrast of selection display
  • Ensured all items have selection displays
  • Ensured there is no moving content that cannot be stopped or paused by the user

The University of Edinburgh