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Accessibility statement for the Healthy Start website

This accessibility statement applies to the Healthy Start website. The website allows users to find out information about the Get help to buy food and milk (Healthy Start) service.

This website is run by the NHS Business Services Authority. 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 400% without the text spilling off the screen
  • navigate most of the website using just a keyboard
  • navigate the website using speech recognition software (including the most recent versions of Dragon and Voice Control)
  • listen to most of the website using a screen reader (including the most recent version of NVDA and Voiceover)

We’ve also made the website text as simple as possible to understand.

Ability Net 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, as:

  • the ‘skip to main content’ feature is hidden when the cookies banner is shown
  • the ‘skip to main content’ feature appears as ‘skip to content’ which is incorrect
  • the NHS logo and associated text are displayed as two separate elements on the Getting vitamins page
  • many features on the website need to be accessibility-reviewed to make sure they’re implemented correctly for users with accessibility needs
  • the structure of the website screens needs to be reviewed to make sure they meet accessibility guidelines
  • all pages contain Accessible Rich Internet Applications (ARIA) and HTML attributes that have not been applied correctly which makes using assistive technology difficult

How to request content in an accessible format

If you need information on this website in a different format like accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille, you can contact us by:

Email: accessibility@nhsbsa.nhs.uk

We’ll consider your request and get back to you in 5 working days.

This inbox is only for accessibility queries. This inbox is not for technical queries or IT problems. If you have a query that is not about accessibility, go to the ‘Contact us’ section of this page.

Reporting accessibility problems with this website

We’re always looking to improve the accessibility of this website. If you find any problems that are not listed on this page or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, you can contact us by:

Email: accessibility@nhsbsa.nhs.uk

This inbox is only for accessibility queries. This inbox is not for technical queries or IT problems. If you have a query that is not about accessibility, go to the ‘Contact us’ section of this page.

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).

Contact us

For all queries not accessibility related, you can contact us by:

Email: healthystart@nhsbsa.nhs.uk

Technical information about this website’s accessibility

The NHS Business Services Authority 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 partially 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 ‘skip to main content’ feature is hidden when cookies banner is shown, This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.4.1 (Bypass blocks).

The ‘skip to main content’ feature appears as ‘skip to content’ which is incorrect. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criteria 2.4.1 (Bypass blocks) and 2.1.4 (Link purpose).

The NHS logo and associated text are displayed as two separate elements in getting vitamins page. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.1.4 (Link purpose).

Many features on the website need to be accessibility-reviewed to make sure they’re implemented correctly for users with accessibility needs.

The structure of the website screens needs to be reviewed to make sure they meet accessibility guidelines.

All pages contain Accessible Rich Internet Applications (ARIA) attributes that have not been applied correctly which makes using assistive technology difficult. 

We plan to fix all the accessibility issues. When we publish new content we'll make sure they meet accessibility standards.

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

Headings

We’ve identified a defect with the NHS Nightingale WordPress theme for Internet Explorer users, where a heading is not showing in the correct format. This has been reported to the team responsible for the template.

What we’re doing to improve accessibility

We’re committed to making sure this website is compliant to WCAG 2.1 ‘AA’ standard.

Every new released website will be designed, built and tested to meet 'AA' standards by default.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 16 March 2021. It was last reviewed on 20 June 2023.

This website was last tested on 17 May 2023. The test was carried out by the NHSBSA test team.

We tested all of the website screens to meet ‘AA’ WCAG 2.1 standards, using manual and automated tests.

We run each webpage through automated Wave, Lighthouse and Axe accessibility tools then manually test with screen readers (NVDA or VoiceOver) and standards checklists. 

We run representative user journey tests through speech recognition software (Dragon or Voice Control).

These checklists contain standards that have been compiled using WCAG, the NHS service manual and the Government Digital Service (GDS) guidance.