Version 5.0
The Senedd Commission (the ‘Commission’, ‘we’), on behalf of the Welsh Parliament / Senedd Cymru (the ‘Senedd’), is committed to making the Senedd’s websites accessible so they can be used by as many people as possible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.
This accessibility statement applies to the following Senedd websites which all share a common platform and underlying design schema:
- senedd.wales | senedd.cymru
- research.senedd.wales | ymchwil.senedd.cymru
- youthparliament.wales | seneddieuenctid.cymru
Separate statements can be found for the Welsh Parliament's other websites including:
These websites are run by the Commission, on behalf of the Senedd. We want as many people as possible to be able to use these websites. 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;
- Navigate most of the website using just a keyboard;
- Navigate most of the website using speech recognition software, except for applying some filters on the ‘Search’ page;
- Listen to most of the website using a screen reader (including the most recent versions of JAWS, NVDA and VoiceOver).
AbilityNet has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability.
What we’re doing to improve accessibility
- Departments across the Commission provide annual assurance statements, outlining the work they are doing to improve accessibility.
- Basic guidelines for accepting third party documents for publication have been put in place. These guidelines have been proactively shared with our regular document providers, and will be shared with others on a need-basis.
- All Commission web-editors receive basic training on web accessibility as a part of the induction to this role. Further accessibility training is offered to those whose roles involve technical and feature development for our website.
- All video content provided for our social media channels is issued with subtitles.
- We have developed and continue to develop our assets to engage with diverse audiences.
- A new accessibility audit will be carried out before 30 April 2024. Findings from this audit will be reviewed, and recommendations for further improvements implemented.
Feedback and Contact information
Accessing content in an accessible format
If you need information on this website in a different format like accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille:
- Email contact@senedd.wales
- Call 0300 200 6565
- Write to us at Welsh Parliament, Cardiff Bay, CF99 1SN
We’ll consider your request and get back to you within five 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, contact us using the form at https://senedd.wales/contact or email address contact@senedd.wales
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).
Contacting us by phone or visiting us in person
We provide a text relay service for people who are D/deaf, hearing impaired or have a speech impediment.
The reception areas of our offices, including the Senedd, Pierhead, Tŷ Hywel and North Wales Offices each have audio induction loops and we can also provide personal audio induction loops that work with our audio translation systems in these buildings and when our committees are meeting remotely. If you contact us before your visit we can usually arrange a British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter. Our building signage is available in braille and we welcome assistance dogs.
Further information on how our buildings and meetings are accessible can be found at https://senedd.wales/accessibility
Find out how to contact us at https://senedd.wales/contact
Technical information about this website’s accessibility
The Welsh Parliament 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.
We are striving to be compliant with the AA standard by the end of 2024 for all active content produced internally by the Senedd.
However, a large part of the information on our website consists of archive documents which form a part of the public record of Senedd Business. It would not be appropriate to update these documents to meet the current standards as they reflect the information as it was published at that point in time. Should we need to re-work this information at any time we will ensure that any new outputs based on this information is as accessible as the original data allows.
There are also documents produced by external bodies which the Senedd is obliged to accept for publication. Whilst we advise these bodies on the accessibility of their submissions, in these circumstances we are obliged to publish the materials as received.
How accessible this website is
We know some parts of this website are not fully accessible:
- Alternative text attributes are not present for some linked images.
- Users of Dragon Naturally Speaking are not able to interact with some search filtering options.
- The cookie notice is sometimes the last element in the tabbing order.
- Some content is announced twice whilst using screen reader software.
Non-accessible content
The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons.
Non-compliance with the accessibility guidelines
Documents provided by third parties:
The Senedd receives documents produced by external bodies which we are, in many instances, obliged to accept for publication. Whilst we advise these bodies on the accessibility of their submissions, in these circumstances we are obliged to publish the materials as received. This is something we are striving to improve and are exploring approaches to accepting accessible submissions from external bodies.
- Accessible names are not provided or incorrectly given to most non-text content such as decorative images, linked images, form input fields and buttons. This is a failure of WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.1.1 Non-text Content.
- Contrast issues are present within PDF documents. This is a failure of WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.4.3 Contrast (Minimum).
- Alternatives for non-text content is not correctly provided for PDFs. Images and figures within lack an alternative text value, and other non-text content is not tagged. This is a failure of WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.1.1 Non-text Content
- List structures and tables within PDFs are not marked up in a way that exposes it to assistive technologies. This is a failure of WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.3.1 Info and Relationships.
- PDF bookmarks do not parallel the document structure. This is a failure of WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.4.1 Bypass Blocks
- The language of PDF documents has not been defined; this may influence the way screen reader software announce text. This is a failure of WCAG 2.1 success criterion 3.1.1 Language of Page.
We are currently trialling new processes with the third-party providers who supply the majority of these PDFs to ensure our that accessibility criteria is met when they submit documents to us for publication.
Other issues:
- Some of our PDFs and Word documents are essential to providing our services. We are in the process of improving the accessibility of these or replacing them with HTML where possible
- There is a lack of alternative text on some images. We are working to ensure alternative text is available on our newly published images by providing guidance and training to staff where required. This does not meet WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.1.1.
- Audio descriptions are not present for pre-recorded video. At present, we don’t routinely audio describe our pre-recorded video content. This fails Success Criterion 1.2.3 Audio Description or Media Alternative (Pre-recorded). We are exploring options as to how to make this possible through our on-demand content platform, Senedd TV.
- A text transcript is not consistently present on all pre-recorded videos. Short-form videos embedded into the website via YouTube after 2019 feature subtitles, and text transcripts for these videos are available on request.
- We are currently exploring how we can provide on-screen captions for our longer-form Senedd TV content. Auto-captioning is currently possible via Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge browsers, however, this service is only available in English at present. Meeting transcripts are available for Senedd Committee and Plenary meetings previously live-streamed via The Record.
Exempt
The following were initially assessed as non-compliant but we believe the content to be exempt from the requirements of WCAG 2.1:
Welsh Language
Welsh text is not defined correctly which may lead to screen readers announcing content incorrectly. This is a failure of WCAG 2.1 success criterion 3.1.2 Language of Parts.
- This assessed failure relates to the Senedd’s use of words with a Welsh origin such as ‘Senedd’, ‘Neuadd’, ‘Cwrt’, ‘Cofnod’ and ‘Llywydd’.
- The Senedd treats these words/phrases as both a “proper name” and “part of the vernacular” of the English language and so there is no need to mark them up separately as Welsh text on an English page.
- In this situation we believe these words to be deemed exempt from this requirement as they should be considered a part of the English language text on the page.
- When pages including these words were tested using the JAWS screen reading software most of these words were successfully read by the default English voice. The only exception was ‘Cwrt’ which the software spelled out to the user.
Disproportionate burden
Our website consists of archive PDF documents which form a part of the public record of Senedd Business. These documents may not meet current accessibility standards. This does not meet WCAG 2.1 success criterion 4.1.2 (name, role value).
Due to the volume of documents, it would be unfeasible to amend these. We have carried out a Disproportionate Burden Assessment explaining our reasons behind this.
Should we need to re-work this information at any time we will ensure that any new outputs based on this information is as accessible as the original data allows.
Content that’s not within the scope of the accessibility regulations
PDFs and other documents published before 23 September 2018.
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 ongoing services.
For example, many of our archive documents form a part of the public record of Senedd Business that took place prior to 23 September 2018. Regardless, it would not be appropriate to update these documents to meet the current standards as they represent the information as it was available at that time.
Pre-recorded time-based media
A text transcript is not consistently present on all pre-recorded video. Pre-recorded time-based media, such as audio and video, published before 23 September 2020 is exempt from meeting the accessibility regulations.
We are currently exploring how we can provide on-screen captions for Senedd TV content. Auto-captioning is currently possible via Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge browsers, however, this service is only available in English at present.
Live video
Live video is exempt from meeting the accessibility regulations.
Preparation of this accessibility statement
This statement was originally prepared on 8 December 2020. It was last reviewed on 4 March 2024.
In October 2023, the UK Government Digital Service conducted an audit of a representative sample of our pages, from which a number of common accessibility issues were identified and fixed.
We have commissioned a new accessibility audit for the website to be carried out before 30 April 2024. Following this, this statement will be updated.
We used the following approach to decide on the sample of pages to test - WCAG-EM.
