Accessibility statement for https://www.microsimulation.ac.uk/

This accessibility statement applies to the website found at the URL: https://www.microsimulation.ac.uk/

This website is run by the Centre for Microsimulation and Policy Analysis (CeMPA). 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 300% without the text spilling off the screen
  • navigate most of the website using just a keyboard

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:

  • you cannot modify the spacing of text
  • our online forms is difficult to navigate using just a keyboard
  • some of our pages can be difficult to navigate with a screen reader

Feedback and contact information

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

We will consider your request and get back to you in 10 working days.

Reporting accessibility problems with this website

We are always looking to improve the accessibility of our website. If you find any problems not listed on this page, or you think we are not meeting accessibility requirements, please email matteo.richiardi@essex.ac.uk

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

The Centre for Microsimulation and Policy Analysis 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 images do not have a text alternative, so people using a screen reader cannot access the information. This fails WCAG 2.1 Success Criterion 1.1.1 (non-text content)

We plan to add text alternatives for all images by April 2021

When we publish new content, we’ll make sure our use of images meets accessibility standards.

Some of our form input controls are missing text labels, so people using a screen reader may not understand the purpose of that form control. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 3.3.2 Labels or instructions are provided when content requires user input

We aim to add labels to all our forms by April 2021.

When we publish new forms, we’ll make sure our use of input controls meets accessibility standards.

Some form input controls have incorrectly associated text labels, so people using a screen reader may not understand the purpose of that form control. This fails WCAG 2.1 Success Criterion 3.3.2 Labels or instructions are provided when content requires user input.

We aim to ensure all labels are correctly associated with their form controls by April 2021.

When we publish new forms, we’ll make sure our use of input controls meets accessibility standards

Some of our form fieldsets do not have a legend, so people using a screen reader may not understand the relationship of grouped form controls. This fails WCAG 2.1 Success Criterion 1.3.1 Information, structure, and relationships conveyed through presentation can be programmatically determined or are available in text and WCAG 2.1 Success Criterion 3.3.2 Labels or instructions are provided when content requires user input

We plan to add legends to all our forms by April 2021

When we publish new forms, we’ll make sure our use of input controls meets accessibility standard

The main navigation menu does not contain required menu items, so people will not be able to navigate the menu easily via a keyboard arrow keys. This fails WCAG  Success Criterion 2.1.1: All page functionality is available using the keyboard, unless the functionality cannot be accomplished in any known way using a keyboard (e.g., free hand drawing) and page-specified shortcut keys and access keys (access key should typically be avoided) do not conflict with existing browser and screen reader shortcuts. This also fails WCAG Success Criterion Success Criterion 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value. Mark-up is used in a way that facilitates accessibility.

We aim to ensure the correct mark-up of the main navigation by April 2021

Some of our text has a low contrast between text and its background, so people with moderately low vision (who do not use contrast-enhancing assistive technology) may not be able to read the text. This fails WCAG 2.1 Success Criterion 1.4.3: Contrast (Minimum). The visual presentation of text and images of text has a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1

We aim to meet accessibility standards for text contrast across our site by April 2021

The order of some headings are not always logical and heading levels are occasionally skipped, this means a user with assistive technology may experience difficulty navigating the site. This fails WCAG 2.1 Success Criterion 2.4.6 (Headings and Labels).

We aim to ensure the correct structure of headings by April 2021

When we publish new pages, we’ll make sure our use of headings meets accessibility standards.

Some of our pages have redundant or identical title text, so people using a screen reader may be confused by the link and the content it links to. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.4.4 (Link Purpose (In Context)) and WCAG 2.1 Success Criterion 2.4.9 (Link Purpose (Link Only))

We aim to ensure all title text provides context for links by April 2021

When we publish new pages, we’ll make sure our use of links and corresponding titles meet accessibility standards.

Some adjacent links go to the same location (such as a linked news image and an adjacent linked product name that go to the same news page), this results in additional navigation and repetition for keyboard and screen reader users. This fails WCAG 2.1 Success Criterion 2.4.9 Link Purpose (Link Only): A mechanism is available to allow the purpose of each link to be identified from the link text alone, except where the purpose of the link would be ambiguous to users in general.

We aim to ensure any adjacent duplicate links are either removed or combined into a single link by April 2021

When we publish new pages, we’ll make sure our use of links meets accessibility standards.

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

PDFs and other documents

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. Where possible we will aim to replace pdf with equivalent Html pages by August 2021

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.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 7th January 2021. It was last reviewed on 7th January 2021

This website was last tested on 7th January 2021. The test was carried out by the Centre for Microsimulation and Policy Analysis web developer.

When deciding on the sample of pages to test for accessibility, we chose pages that are most visited by website users.