Manage accessibility in your project
You must consider accessibility at every stage of your project to pass the necessary Stage Gates.
1. Discovery and definition
When: Stage Gates 0 and 1
At the start of your project, you need to:
- include accessibility requirements in your user research and stakeholder expectations
- contact the Defra accessibility team about your project as early as possible.
Add accessibility risk to your risk register
You should add this statement to your risk register:
"The system may not comply with accessibility regulations. We may be breaking the law (Public Sector Accessibility regulations and the Equality Act) and incur additional costs to fix the system later."
2. Delivery strategy
When: Stage Gate 2
You must demonstrate that your requirements are correct and budget is available.
This includes incorporating accessibility in your tender requirements and user needs.
You should use the draft accessibility requirements for tenders guide (opens in a new tab) for support on how to do this.
Budget to allocate
You should allocate budget for:
- external audits (approximately £8,000 to £30,000)
- defect resolution
- specialist roles (such as QA engineers or content designers)
3. Investment and design
When: Stage Gate 3
If you are using a supplier, you must confirm their product is accessible before you sign a contract or start the build.
Checks for suppliers
You must not rely on a supplier's claim. Ask these questions and send the answers to the accessibility team:
- Does the software conform to Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 at level AA?
- Who performed the audit? (We prefer third-party assurance over self-testing.)
- Are you using overlays or plugins? (Defra does not accept the use of overlays.)
- Will you rectify non-conformance at no extra cost?
You must have a written plan that includes manual testing with users of assistive technology. Automated testing is not enough.
What to include in your testing plan
Your testing plan should include:
- manual testing with users of assistive technology
- testing with the assistive technologies used by your users
- automated testing tools (as a supplement, not a replacement)
- key user journeys and critical functionality
4. Readiness for service
When: Stage Gate 4
Before going live, you must:
- provide a written audit report confirming WCAG 2.2 AA compliance
- publish a compliant accessibility statement on your service
- have a plan to fix any minor defects within 12 weeks of going live
What makes a compliant accessibility statement
Your accessibility statement must include:
- whether your service meets WCAG 2.2 level AA
- any parts that are not fully accessible and why
- what you're doing to fix any issues
- how users can report accessibility problems
- details of any exemptions
Use the GOV.UK accessibility statement template to ensure your statement is compliant.
5. Live service
When: Stage Gate 5
You must confirm there are no outstanding defects. If defects arise, you must update your accessibility statement and roadmap immediately.
What to do if defects are found
If accessibility defects are found after going live:
- update your accessibility statement immediately to reflect the current state
- create a roadmap showing when you will fix each issue
- prioritise fixes that affect critical user journeys
- contact the Defra accessibility team for advice on complex issues