Accessibility
Accessibility statement for Safety.HS2.org.uk
This accessibility statement applies to Safety.HS2.org.uk
This website is run by High Speed Two (HS2) Ltd. 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 using browser or device settings
- zoom in up to 400% without the text spilling off the screen
- navigate most of the website using a keyboard or 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:
Issues were reported by users who require audio feedback to navigate and interact with page content. For example, some page elements were not descriptive enough for users to determine the elements’ function or purpose. As a result of this some users were unable to confidently interact with those page elements independently.
Mobility impaired users encountered some elements that were not accessible to standard keyboard commands or voice activation software. Keyboard only users were also unable to track the order in which some page elements receive focus because the colours used for visual indicators were not clear.
Some of the colour combinations found on the site are low contrast and are likely to be difficult for people with low vision to read.
Feedback and contact information
If you find any problems not listed on this page or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, contact our Helpdesk using the details below.
If you need information on this website in a different format like accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille, contact our Helpdesk.
Email: HS2enquiries@hs2.org.uk
Freephone: 08081 434 434
Minicom: 08081 456 472
Alternatively, you can write to us at:
HS2 Community Hub
High Speed Two (HS2) Ltd
Two Snowhill
Snow Hill Queensway
Birmingham
B4 6GA
We’ll consider your request and get back to you in [21] days.
Contacting us by phone or visiting us in person
We provide a text relay service for people who are deaf, hearing impaired or have a speech impediment:
Minicom: 08081 456 472
Our offices have audio induction loops, or if you contact us before your visit, we can arrange a British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter.
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
High Speed Two (HS2) Ltd 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
The website has been tested against the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 AA standard.
This website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 AA standard, due to the non-compliances and exemptions listed below.
Non accessible content
The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons.
Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations
Headings were not always utilised in a logical and hierarchical manner to introduce, organise content, or describe its purpose. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.3.1 Info and Relationships.
Links were found that had duplicated labels. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.4.4 Link Purpose (In Context).
The accessible name for user interface components did not contain the text that is visually presented as the label. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.5.3 Label in Name.
There is an image that presents information to users in a table format, but this information is not provided in any other way. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criteria 1.1.1 Non-text Content, 1.3.1 Info and Relationships, 1.3.3 Sensory Characteristics, 1.4.1 Use of Color and 1.4.5 Images of Text.
Audible updates are not provided for screen reader users after performing a document search. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.4.2 Page Titled.
The focus highlighting colours used were not clear for some users. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.4.11 Non-text Contrast.
Labels were found to be non-descriptive for screen reader users. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.4.6 Headings and Labels.
The contrast ratio between foreground and background colours failed to meet the expected ratios. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.4.3 Contrast (Minimum).
Fixes for the issues above were published on 19 March 2024.
Content that’s not within the scope of the accessibility regulations
PDF’s and other documents
Many of our older PDFs and Word documents do not meet accessibility standards – for example, they may not be structured so they’re accessible to a screen reader.
Some of our PDFs and Word documents are essential to providing our services. For example, we have PDFs with information on how users can access our services, and forms published as Word documents.
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.
Live video
We do not plan to add captions to live video streams because live video is exempt from meeting the accessibility regulations.
What we’re doing to improve accessibility
We test our website annually with the Digital Accessibility Centre (DAC) to check for areas of improvement or non-compliance. They produce a detailed report for us.
Our website agency has a dedicated accessibility expert who then reviews this report and makes recommendations accordingly. Since receiving the report a number of improvements have been made to address the Level A and Level AA issues that were noted.
Preparation of this accessibility statement
This statement was prepared on 22 May 2023. It was last reviewed on 19 March 2024.
This website was last tested on 21 December 2023. The test was carried out by Digital Accessibility Centre (DAC).