ICO accessibility statement

Introduction

This statement applies to the ico.org.uk website.

The website is run by the Information Commissioner’s Office. We want as many people as possible to be able to use this website.

The text should be clear and simple to understand. You should be able to:

change colours, contrast levels and fonts using browser or device settings;
zoom in up to 400% on most pages 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).

Some of our website is available in the Welsh language, which you can access using the language selector on our website, or via our Wales office on 0330 414 6421.

If you need to contact us via the phone and you are deaf or have a hearing or speech impairment, you can use the free BT service Relay UK. Install the free app on your smartphone, tablet, or computer, which you can access on your app store. Then our advice line on 0303 123 1113, Mon - Fri, 9am-5pm. The Relay UK service itself is free. You'll only pay your normal charges for the calls.

How accessible this website is

The ICO is dedicated to making the website as accessible as possible. We work to continually improve and enhance the website for users with accessibility requirements.

We know some parts of this website are not fully accessible:

Main ICO website

Some tables do not have headers. This will affect how users are able to understand structure in tables.

Some pages require scrolling on small screens. This will mean that users will need to scroll to read the content.

Some interactive components are not far enough apart on small screens. This may mean people have difficulty clicking the right element.

Information published through Microsoft Power BI contains a number of accessibility issues that may impact users, particularly to users with screen readers.

Certain elements of our digital assistant are not accessible, particularly to users with screen readers.

ICO search

Not all pages contain a main heading. This will affect how users can understand the structure of the page.

Filters are missing ARIA IDs. This may prevent users of assistive technologies understanding what the filter does.

Placeholder text and the text entered into the search box does not contrast sufficiently with its surroundings.

The date control is not labelled correctly. This may impact screen reader users being able to understand what the control is.

Adjacent links point to the same destination. This may slow the speed that users can understand the page when using assistive technologies.

Focus obscures links on small devices. This may prevent users on mobile devices linking to related sites, for example the ICO’s Facebook channel.

Some links and interactive components are not far enough apart. This may mean people have difficulty clicking the right element.

Public register of fee payers

The landing/search page requires scrolling on small screens. This will mean that users will need to scroll to read the content.

The search button is not clearly labelled as a submit button. This may prevent some people using accessible technologies being able to search.

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 the ICO’s website 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

If you require any service adjustments such as documents in different formats or interpretations or translation services please contact us or call our helpline on 0303 123 1113. We will deal with each request on an individual basis.

Our offices in Wilmslow have a loop system and accessible parking. If you require any further reasonable adjustments or our visiting our regional offices please send your requests to the staff member arranging your visit. All requests are dealt with on an individual basis.

Technical information about this website’s accessibility

The Information Commissioner’s Office 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 has been tested against the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 AA standard.

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 elements of our main website (ico.org.uk) do not meet the standards in the following ways:

Some tables do not have headings. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.3.1 (info and relationships).
Some pages require scrolling on small screens. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.4.10 (reflow).
Some interactive components are not far enough apart on small screens. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 2.5.8 (target size – minimum).

We plan to review these issues by September 2025.

We use Microsoft Power BI to publish information about data security incidents reported to the ICO. This feature does not meet the accessibility standards in the following ways:

Frame doesn’t reflow when zoomed in at high levels. This fails WCAG success criterion 1.4.10 (reflow).
Buttons are missing labels and some are not in tabbing order. This fails WCAG success criterion 2.1.1 (keyboard).
New slides are not announced and do not receive focus. This fails WCAG success criterion 4.1.2 (name, role, value) and 2.4.3 (focus order).
Content in text boxes is not read aloud. This fails WCAG success criterion 4.1.2 (name, role, value).
It is not possible to manipulate the presentation and styling of text content within the PowerBI visualiser beyond zooming in and changing colours. This fails WCAG success criterion 1.4.12 (visual presentation of text).

We plan to review these issues in 2025.

Our digital assistant does not meet the accessibility standards in the following ways:

For a screen reader user, the digital assist answer blocks have no clear structure – everything is read out in one big block, or tabbing through the answer content just keeps moving through the options without using the sideways arrows (these are not keyboard operable). This fails WCAG success criterion 1.3.1 Information and relationships.
The digital assist contents remain in the keyboard tabbing order even when the digital assist is collapsed. This fails WCAG success criterion 1.3.1 Information and relationships.
A few buttons in the digital assist have no visible focus indicator. This fails WCAG success criterion 2.4.7 Focus visible.
Visible focus on the user’s messages in the digital assist (when tabbing through the conversation) is unclear. This fails WCAG success criterion 2.4.11 Focus appearance.
Digital assist responses are not announced clearly. This fails WCAG success criterion 4.1.2 Name, role and value.

We plan to review these issue in 2025.

Our search pages do not meet the accessibility standards in the following ways:

Not all pages contain a main heading. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.3.1 (info and relationships).
Filters are missing ARIA IDs. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.3.1 (info and relationships).
Placeholder text and the text entered into the search box does not contrast sufficiently with its surroundings. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.1 1.4.11 (non-text contrast).
Adjacent links point to the same destination. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.1.1 (non-text content).
Focus obscures links on small devices. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 2.4.11 (focus not obscured – minimum).
Some links and interactive components are not far enough apart. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 2.5.8 (target size – minimum).

We plan to review these issues in 2025.

Our public register of fee payers pages do not meet the accessibility standards in the following ways:

The landing/search page requires scrolling on small screens. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.4.10 (reflow).
The search button is not clearly labelled as a submit button. This fails WCAG 2.0 success criterion 3.2.2 (on input).

Content that’s not within the scope of the accessibility regulations

Some of our older PDFs (modified before September 2018) do not meet accessibility standards. For example the content is not structured or tagged correctly or is not fully accessible to screen readers.

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. For example, we do not plan to fix old consultation responses or meeting minutes.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 23 September 2020. It was last reviewed on 24 April 2025.

This website was last tested on 24 April 2025. It produced two reports detailing compliance against the WCAG 2.1 and 2.2 standards to level AA.

The test was carried out using a third party automated accessibility testing tool Silktide. You can read the full accessibility test reports for how compliant the website is with the WCAG 2.1 AA standard and how compliant the website is with the WCAG 2.2 AA standard.