ACCESSIBILITY STATEMENT

This accessibility statement applies to handbook.fca.org.uk, the domain used to publish the FCA Handbook online.
The website is run by The Stationery Office (TSO) on behalf of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). We have designed the website to be used by as many people as possible. The text should be clear and simply to understand.  You should be able to:

  1. change colours, contrast levels and fonts
  2. navigate most of the website using just a keyboard
  3. listen to most of the website using a screen reader

Where possible we’ve also made the website text as simple as possible to understand. Although it uses specialist terms and language as it relates to the FCA Handbook content it includes.

Why we are publishing this statement

The FCA is publishing this updated accessibility statement to demonstrate how it complies with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1.  It replaces the previous accessibility statement. This statement details where the FCA has made its Handbook website accessible.  But we know some parts of this website are not yet fully accessible.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared and first published on 22 September 2020. It was last reviewed on 22 September 2020.

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: esupport@tso.co.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, please contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS).


Feedback and contact information

If you need information on this website in a different format, such as accessible PDF, large print, easy read or an audio recording please email esupport@tso.co.uk.
We will consider your request and get back to you in 10 working days.

Technical information about this website’s accessibility

The Financial Conduct Authority is committed to making its website accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018. 
Where possible this website is compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 AA standard. Any deviation from the Guidelines is due to the following non-compliances and exemptions:

Non-compliances

  1. Users are not able to navigate the entire website through use of the keyboard alone 
  2. Users cannot modify the line height or spacing of text
  3. Video guides are not accessible with a screen reader although text alternatives are provided

Exemptions

  1. The site is not optimised for mobile use:
  2. the text will not fit the page, screen or window
  3. you will be able to view the content on this website using the browser zoom at 200% but it cannot be viewed at 300%
  4. The text will not fit the page, screen or window in a single column when you change the size of the browser window
  5. PDF documents are not accessible to screen reader software

Non-accessible content

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

  1. PDFs of FCA Handbook updates and instruments are not accessible with a screen reader

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

There are some further areas of the FCA Handbook website that are not compliant with the accessibility regulations at present. These are as follows:

  1. The How to Use this website video does not have an alternative format in text or audio. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.2.1 (Audio only and Video only (pre-recorded)).
  2. Existing PDFs are not accessible with screen readers. When new PDFs are produced for the Handbook going forward, we will ensure that these are readable with a screen reader and will help to move the FCA Handbook website towards compliance.

Disproportionate burden

This section covers areas of the FCA Handbook website that have not been made compliant with the accessibility regulations where we believe to do so now would be a disproportionate burden within the meaning of the regulations. 
Navigation and accessing information

  1. Users are not able to navigate the entire website through use of the keyboard alone
  2. Users cannot modify the line height or spacing of text

We have assessed the cost of fixing these issues and believe that doing so now would be a disproportionate burden. We will seek to make an assessment of whether these items are able to be resolved when the supplier contract is renewed.

PDFs and other documents

Our PDFs are essential to providing some of our content, such as forms. 
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.
We have assessed the cost of fixing the issues with navigation and capturing existing PDFs in such a way that they will be compatible with screen readers. We believe that doing so now would be a disproportionate burden and we will make another assessment when the supplier contract is renewed.
Accessible versions of these documents can be provided if needed and should be requested through the above contact details.

What we’re doing to improve accessibility

We intend to fix the accessibility issues identified in this statement as part of the process to identify and appoint a new website supplier in the future. In the interim, we will continue to test for and fix, where possible, any non-accessible content.

How we test this website

We test this website using manual and automated accessibility tests. Both types of testing are run against the W3C WAI Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1. Test failures are reported to our development team and the issues are worked through on a priority basis.

We do manual testing by selecting a representative sample of web pages (typically between 10 and 20 pages) and check that they are compliant with the guidelines. Our testers use the WAVE Chrome browser extension, which applies a range of checks to the web page under test. Our testers also manually navigate around the pages and check that content is presented in a logical order. The last manual test took place on 9 September 2020.

We arrange for Sitemorse to conduct an automated scan of the website, focussing on the top-level pages. This allows us to identify the most common breaches of the guidelines and prioritise our corrective actions. The last scan took place on 4th August 2020.