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Accessibility statement for NHS Bursary

This accessibility statement applies to the NHS Bursary website.

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
  • listen to most of the website using a screen reader (including the most recent version of NVDA)

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, as:

  • some Accessible Rich Internet Applications (ARIA) attributes do not have valid values, meaning users could face difficulty understanding some fields
  • there are two instances of broken ARIA references which could cause elements to be read out incorrectly by screen readers
  • some page titles are duplicated or do not correctly describe the purpose of the page
  • when the user triggers a field error they are sometimes presented with error text that does not correctly describe the issue
  • some error text is duplicated, making it difficult for the user to understand which field it relates to
  • some error summary links do not correctly place focus on the field
  • some field character counts are not read out by a screen reader so the user may not know if they have hit the field character limit
  • some view and remove action links are not correctly spaced, meaning users with issues with motor control may have difficulty clicking on the option they want to select
  • the user is not informed when they are about to be timed out due to inactivity, this could cause them to need to enter the same information more than once
  • the user is not made informed that there is a PDF file link or that it will open in the same tab they are currently working with, which could cause them to leave their current task

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:

Online: using our online form

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

Some Accessible Rich Internet Applications (ARIA) attributes do not have valid values, meaning users could face difficulty understanding some fields. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 4.1.2 (Name, Role, Value).

There are two instances of broken ARIA references which could cause elements to be read out incorrectly by screen readers. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 4.1.2 (Name, Role, Value).

Some page titles are duplicated or do not correctly describe the purpose of the page. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.4.2 (Page Titled).

When the user triggers a field error, they are sometimes presented with error text that does not correctly describe the issue. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 3.3.3 (Error Suggestion).

Some error text is duplicated, making it difficult for the user to understand which field it relates to. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 3.3.1 (Error Identification).

Some error summary links do not correctly place focus on the field. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criteria 3.3.1 (Error Identification) and 3.3.3 (Error Suggestion).

Some field character counts are not read out by a screen reader so the user may not know if they have hit the field character limit. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion. 4.1.3 (Status Messages).

Some view and remove action links are not correctly spaced, meaning users with issues with motor control may have difficulty clicking on the option they want to select. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.4.12 (Text Spacing).

The user is not informed when they are about to be timed out due to inactivity, this could cause them to need to enter the same information more than once. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.2.6 (Timeouts).

The user is not made informed that there is a PDF file link or that it will open in the same tab they are currently working with, which could cause them to leave their current task. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.4.9 (Link Purpose (Link Only)).

When we publish new content we’ll make sure it meets accessibility standards. 

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 15 March 2022. It was last reviewed on 16 November 2023.

This website was last tested on 9 November 2023. The test was carried out by the NHSBSA test and development teams.

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.