10 Nov 2020 | Index | Accessibility
With all public sector websites needing to be compliant with European standard EN 301 549 V1.1.2 (2015-04) by 22 September 2020; we look at the progress Local Authorities are making in ensuring their websites are accessible to people with disabilities.
At Sitemorse we published our 2020 Q4 UK Local Government INDEX this week. The INDEX has been published quarterly since 2006 and ranks the websites of over 400 UK local government authorities, based on User Experience, Search Engine Optimisation and Governance, Risk and Compliance.
Our Q4 2020 INDEX was compiled following over 275 million tests, checks and measures across over 850,000 URLs.
Congratulations to Comhairle nan Eilean Siar for taking first place and to Stevenage Borough Council for rising 363 places up the table!
Overall, 68 local authorities improved the Accessibility of their website, whilst 68 have seen it decline and 275 have made no progress.
Harrogate Borough Council and Bracknell Forest Council were the only Local Authorities to pass the WCAG 2.1 Level A and AA tests on 100% of their web pages. No local authorities failed the level A and AA tests on every page.
European Union Directive 2016/2102/EU, creating a set of standards for EU public sector bodies, using European standard EN 301 549 V1.1.2 (2015-04), was approved on October 26, 2016. It came into force for in the UK on 23 September 2018. The aim of the regulations is to ensure public sector websites and mobile apps can be used by as many people as possible.
This includes those with:
- impaired vision
- motor difficulties
- cognitive impairments or learning disabilities
- deafness or impaired hearing
New public sector websites have needed to be compliant since 22 September this year. All other public sector websites need to be compliant by 22 September 2020.
If we focus on accessibility, Harrogate Borough Council and Bracknell Forest Council should be congratulated for taking the lead in this sector top scoring a perfect 10 (out of 10). Summarising accessibility scores we see that:
- 42% of local authorities scored 5 or 6 (out of 10) for accessibility
- 19% of local authorities scored between 1 and 4 (out of 10) for accessibility
- 15% of local authorities scored zero for accessibility
An honourable mention should be made to Corby Borough Council and Mid Ulster District Council who increased their accessibility score by 6 points – well done!
In the event of 2 organisations being tied then the organisation who scored higher in the previous quarter’s INDEX is ranked higher.
Top ten websites
- Comhairle nan Eilean Siar
- Eastleigh Borough Council
- Rochdale Borough Council
- Harrogate Borough Council
- North Devon Council
- South Northamptonshire Council
- Richmondshire District Council
- Bracknell Forest Council
- Essex County Council
- Scarborough Borough Council
Five Most improved websites
- Stevenage Borough Council
- Tunbridge Wells Borough Council
- Belfast City Council
- Leicester City Council
- Cannock Chase Council
The full 2020 Q4 UK Local Government results can be found here: Sitemorse UK Local Government INDEX