This accessibility statement applies to the Information Services Portal (ISP).
This website is run by the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA). We want as many people as possible to be able to use this website. For example, that means you should be able to:
- change screen orientation to portrait or landscape
- listen to most of the website using a screen reader (including the most recent version of NVDA)
- navigate most of the website using just a keyboard or speech recognition software, such as Dragon
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, as:
- some pages contain missing or inappropriate labels or attributes
- some pages have images which have missing alternative text making them difficult to be identified by a screen reader
- some pages have missing or uninformative page titles which makes understanding the purpose of the page more difficult
- some pages contain elements that have very low contrast between foreground and background making the content difficult to read
- most pages do not contain a heading structure, making it difficult to navigate
- some pages contain empty, unclear or duplicate links
- if JavaScript is disabled users will not be able to access the content of the pages
- some pages contain technical features that make navigation with a keyboard difficult
- some text is too small or badly formatted and the user cannot modify the type, size or spacing of text
- some clickable elements do not have sufficient size or spacing in between
- some pages do not have the option to skip to the main content
- elements do not focus when they are selected
- the text of some pages will not reflow in a single column when the size of the browser window is changed
- messages and timeouts can occur without warning to the user and users have no way of stopping these timeouts
- autocomplete may be activated in confidential fields
- some images contain text that it is not accessible for screen readers
- some pages require dragging movements to display the content
- logos do not have the correct alternative text
- error messages are complex and difficult to understand
- it may not be possible to log in and navigate the website using speech recognition software
How to request 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, you can contact us by:
Email: accessibility@nhsbsa.nhs.uk
We’ll consider your request and get back to you in 5 working days.
This email address is only for accessibility queries. It is not for technical queries or IT problems. If you have a query that is not about accessibility, go to the ‘Contact us’ section of this page.
Reporting accessibility problems with this website
We’re always looking to improve the accessibility of this website. If you find any problems that are not listed on this page or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, you can contact us by:
Email: accessibility@nhsbsa.nhs.uk
This email address is only for accessibility queries. It is not for technical queries or IT problems. If you have a query that is not about accessibility, go to the ‘Contact us’ section of this page.
Contact us
For all queries not accessibility related, you can contact us by:
Email: DataServicesSupport@nhsbsa.nhs.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
NHSBSA 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 2.2 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
Some pages contain missing or inappropriate labels or attributes. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criteria 2.4.6 (Headings and Labels), 1.1.1 (Non-text Content), 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships) and 3.3.2 (Labels or Instructions).
Some pages have images which have missing alternative text making them difficult to be identified by a screen reader. This means people using a screen reader cannot access the information properly. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.1.1 (Non-text Content).
Some pages have missing or uninformative page titles which makes understanding the purpose of the page more difficult. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criteria 2.4.2 (Page Titled), 2.4.5 (Multiple Ways) and 2.4.6 (Headings and Labels).
Some pages contain elements that have very low contrast between foreground and background making the content difficult to read. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criteria 1.4.3 (Contrast (Minimum)) and 1.4.11 (Non-text Contrast).
Most pages do not contain a heading structure, making it difficult to navigate. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criteria 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships), 2.4.6 (Headings and Labels) and 3.3.2 (Labels or Instructions).
Some pages contain empty, unclear or duplicate links. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criteria 2.4.4 (Link Purpose (In Context)) and 2.4.9 (Link Purpose (Link Only)).
If JavaScript is disabled users will not be able to access the content of the pages. This fails WCAG 2.2 criteria 1.3 (Adaptable), 2.0 (Operable), and 4.1 (Compatible).
Some pages contain technical features that make navigation with a keyboard difficult. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criteria 2.1.1 (Keyboard) and 3.2.2 (On Input).
Some text is too small or badly formatted and the user cannot modify the type, size or spacing of text. This fails WCAG 2.2 criteria 1.4.3 (Contrast (Minimum)), 1.4.4 (Resize Text), and 1.4.12 (Text Spacing).
Some clickable elements do not have sufficient size or spacing in between. This fails WCAG 2.2 criteria 1.4.11 (Non-text Contrast), 2.5.5 (Target Size (Enhanced)), and 2.5.8 (Target Size (Minimum)).
Some pages do not have the option to skip to the main content. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criteria 2.4.1 (Bypass Blocks), 3.2.3 (Consistent Navigation), and 3.2.4 (Consistent Identification).
Elements do not focus when they are selected. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criteria 2.4.3 (Focus Order) and 2.4.7 (Focus Visible).
The text of some pages will not reflow in a single column when the size of the browser window is changed. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criteria 1.3.4 (Orientation) and 1.4.10 (Reflow).
Messages and timeouts can occur without warning to the user and users have no way of stopping these timeouts. This will mean that the user will not be able to extend or cancel the timeout. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criteria 2.2.1 (Timing Adjustable), 2.2.4 (Interruptions), 2.2.5 (Re-authenticating) and 2.2.6 (Timeouts).
Autocomplete may be activated in confidential fields. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.3.5 (Identify Input Purpose).
Some images contain text that it is not accessible for screen readers. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criteria 1.1.1 (Non-text Content) and 1.4.9 (Images of Text).
Some pages require dragging movements to display the content. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 2.5.7 (Dragging Movements).
Logos do not have the correct alternative text. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.4.5 (Images of Text).
Error messages are complex and difficult to understand. This fails WCAG 2.2 criteria 3.3.1 (Error Identification), 3.3.3 (Error Suggestion), 3.3.5 (Help) and 4.1.3 (Status Messages).
It may not be possible to log in and navigate the website using speech recognition software. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 4.1 (Compatible).
We plan to fix these issues. We'll make sure new content we publish meets accessibility standards.
Content that’s not within the scope of the accessibility regulations
PDFs and other documents
Some of our PDFs and Word documents are essential to providing our services. For example, we have PDFs and Word documents with information on how users can access and use our services. 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
We are committed to making sure this website is compliant to WCAG 2.2 ‘AA’ standard.
Our accessibility compliance statement will be reviewed regularly. Every newly released website will be designed, built, and tested to meet ‘AA’ standards by default.
Preparation of this accessibility statement
This statement was originally prepared on 15 September 2020. It was last reviewed on 16 October 2024.
This website was last tested on 10 October 2024 against the WCAG 2.2 AA standard.
The test was carried out by the NHSBSA test and development teams. The most viewed pages were tested using automated testing tools by our website team. A further audit of the website was carried out to the WCAG 2.2 AA standard.
We tested all the website screens to meet ‘AA’ WCAG 2.2 standards, using manual and automated tests.
We run each webpage through automated Wave, Lighthouse and Axe accessibility tools then manually test with screen readers (NVDA) and standards checklists.
We run representative user journey tests through speech recognition software (Dragon).
These checklists contain standards that have been compiled using WCAG, the NHS service manual and the Government Digital Service (GDS) guidance.