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Accessibility statement for Biological Reagent Catalogue and Scientific Tests Website

This accessibility statement applies to: https://science.vla.gov.uk/Reagents/Default.aspx https://science.vla.gov.uk/Tests/Default.aspx?SiteName=CDThttps://science.vla.gov.uk/Tests/Default.aspx?SiteName=DST

This website is run by APHA.

We want as many people as possible to be able to use this website. For example, that means you should be able to:

  • use browser settings or plugins to change colours, contrast levels and fonts
  • use browser settings or other software to zoom in up to 175% 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
  • 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:

  • Some forms have missing labels, making it hard for screen reader and voice control users to fill in the forms
  • The page language isn’t set meaning your screen reader may read things incorrectly if you don’t usually use English
  • Some buttons are empty making them impossible to use for screen reader and voice control users
  • Some text lacks contrast, making it hard to read
  • Pages don’t have regions, lack headings, and have other structural issues making it hard for screen reader users to navigate the site
  • Some tables have layout issues making them hard to understand for screen reader users
  • The page titles don’t change as you navigate, making it hard to find the correct page in your history
  • Some images lack alternative text meaning they cannot be understood by screen reader users
  • Some links only contain images without alternative text, making the link hard to use for screen reader users

Feedback and contact information

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

In your message, include:

  • the web address (URL) of the content
  • your email address and name
  • the format you need - for example, plain text, braille, BSL, large print or audio CD
  • if you need a PDF in an accessible format.

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: aphascientific@apha.gov.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).

Technical information about this website’s accessibility

APHA 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 listed below.

Non-accessible content

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

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

Missing form labels: This means the function or purpose of that form is not presented to a screen reader.
This fails WCAG: 1.1.1 Non-text Content,1.3.1 Info and Relationships, 2.4.6 Headings and Labels, 3.3.2 Labels or Instructions

The language of the website is not identified: This means screen readers will not be able to read the content in an appropriate language or translate content.
This fails WCAG: 3.1.1 Language of Page

Empty Button: This means no descriptive text is presented to the screen reader to indicate the function of the button.
This fails WCAG: 1.1.1 Non-text Content (Level A), 2.4.4 Link Purpose (In Context) (Level A)

Contrast Errors: This means there is very low contrast between text and background which could effect all users especially users with low vision.
This fails WCAG: 1.4.3 Contrast (Minimum)

No Page Regions: This means there are no landmarks to identify significant page areas
This fails WCAG: 1.3.1 Info and Relationships, 2.4.1 Bypass Blocks

Heading Levels, Skipped Heading Level, Possible Headings: This means assistive technology will not know the structure to facility keyboard navigation. Users may be confused or experience difficulty navigating.
This fails WCAG: 1.3.1 Info and Relationships, 2.4.1 Bypass Blocks, Headings and Labels.

Layout Table: This means content is not at all tabular in nature and can introduce reading and navigation order issues. Screen readers may interpret them as data tables (i.e., announcing column and row numbers), especially if they contain table header (<th>) cells. This introduces significant overhead on screen reader users.
This fails WCAG: 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (Level A), 1.3.2 Meaningful Sequence (Level A)

Noscript element: This is exposed when JavaScript is disabled. Nearly all users (including users of screen readers and other assistive technologies) have JavaScript enabled, <noscript> cannot be used to provide an accessible version of inaccessible scripted content.

Redundant Title Text: This means title attribute value can not provide advisory information. Advisory information presented should not be identical to or similar to the element text or alternative text.
Linked Image Alt Text: This means the function and purpose of the link and the content of the image is not available to screen reader users or when images are unavailable.

Unordered Lists: This means assistive technologies will not understand the relationship of parallel items
This fails WCAG: 1.3.1 Info and Relationships

PDFs and other documents

Some of our PDFs and Word documents are essential to providing our services. For example, we have PDFs with information on how users can access our services, and forms published as Word documents. By September 2020, we plan to either fix these or replace them with accessible HTML pages. 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. Any new PDFs or Word documents we publish will meet accessibility standards.

What we’re doing to improve accessibility

Departments and agencies are urgently fixing content which fails to meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 AA standard. We will update this page when issues are fixed.

A replacement website is currently under development due to be published in 2025.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 12 July 2023. It was last reviewed on 27 October 2023.

Page last modified:12 January 2024