New regulations mean that public sector organisations have a legal duty to make their websites and mobile applications (apps) accessible by making them perceivable, operable, understandable and robust. The Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018 became UK law in September 2018 and aim to make online public services accessible for everyone, including those with disabilities.
There are three key compliance deadlines for the regulations:
23 September 2019 for ‘new’ public sector websites published on or after 23 September 2018
23 September 2020 for any other public sector website
Practice365 is pleased to be able to provide a free site audit report (https://practice365.co.uk/site-audit/), that clearly shows how compliant your website is, and any steps you need to take to be complaint.
The first deadline to meet the regulations was 23 September 2019 and impacts ‘new’ websites. This means public sector organisations should have checked the accessibility of websites published on or after 23 September 2018 and published an up-to-date accessibility statement.
Public sector organisations must also make sure all new websites launched in the future meet accessibility requirements and have an accessibility statement.
Public sector organisations have until 23 September 2020 to make websites published before 23 September 2018 accessible and publish an accessibility statement. Any intranets, extranets or employee-facing websites that are published or undergo significant change on or after 23 September 2019 must meet the requirements too.
