Accessibility Statement for Newsletter Preference Centre

This accessibility statement applies to http://webmail.historicenglandservices.org.uk/k/Historic-England/historic_england_preference_centre.

This website is run by Historic England. We want as many people as possible to be able to use this website. For example, that means you should be able to:

  • change colours, contrast levels and fonts
  • zoom in up to 300% 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:

  • you cannot skip to the main content when using a screen reader
  • if you use a screen reader the form help and validation will be read out in an incorrect order

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:

We’ll consider your request and get back to you in 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 customer services on [email protected], who will pass your request on to the appropriate team.

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.

Our offices have audio induction loops, or if you contact us before your visit we can arrange a British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter.

Find out how to contact us.

Technical information about this website’s accessibility

Historic England 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 not 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

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

The page structure is not accurate (1.3.1 – Info and Relationships: Logical structures / 2.4.1 – Bypass Blocks: Provide a “Skip to Content” link / 2.4.3 – Focus Order: Tabbing in logical Order / 2.4.6 – Headings and Labels: Use clear headings and labels / 2.4.2 – Page Titled: Helpful and clear page title / 3.1.1 – Language of Page: Page has a language assigned)

Colour contrast is not strong enough (1.4.1 – Use of Colour: Don’t use a presentation that relies solely on colour eg. forms, disabled buttons / 1.4.3 – Contrast (Minimum): Contrast ratio between text and background is at least 4.5:1 / 1.4.11 – Non-Text Contrast: High contrast between pieces of text and their backgrounds)

The form is not easy enough to use with assistive technologies (3.2.1 – On Focus: Elements do not change when they receive focus / 1.4.13 – Content on Hover Focus: Ensuring content visible on hover or keyboard focus does not lead to accessibility issues / 2.4.7 – Focus Visible: Keyboard focus is visible and clear / 4.1.3 – Status Messages: Status messages can be presented to the user by assistive technologies without receiving focus)

It is unclear what purpose the large interest buttons serve (2.4.4 – Link Purpose (In Context): Every link’s purpose is clear from its context)

Disproportionate burden

Accessibility is a priority for Historic England.

We are constantly working to make sure our digital offer provides the best user experience for those with accessibility needs.

In our accessibility statement, we have identified multiple issues using the newsletter preference centre. We believe fixing the issues on this website would represent a disproportionate burden. The justification for this is outlined below.

The function presented via this website will migrate into the corporate website. Plans to deliver this by the September 2020 deadline have been delayed by the impact of Covid-19. Following a current upgrade of Historic England's content management system we will incorporate the newsletter tool. This will be tested for compliance against the accessibility regulations.

The ability to sign up to the Historic England newsletter is also available through the corporate website at https://account.historicengland.org.uk/. The ability to unsubscribe is available in the email newsletter itself.

In summary, we felt that fixing accessibility issues with the website at this stage represented a disproportionate burden because resources have already been allocated to building a new offer, where these issues will be addressed and there is already an available alternative. The new offer is due to launch in 2022 and this will be tested for compliance against the accessibility regulations.

What we’re doing to improve accessibility

It is Historic England’s intention for the service currently available at http://webmail.historicenglandservices.org.uk/k/Historic-England/historic_england_preference_centre to be fully compliant with the accessibility standards in 2022.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 15 September. It was last reviewed on 25 August 2021.

This website was last tested on 31 January 2019. The test was carried out by Cadence Innova.

The preferences and thank you page were both tested.