Downing Street website fails on access

Cathy Reay

The new website for 10 Downing Street fails accessibility standards, according to a new report.

Tests by the computing and disability consultancy AbilityNet for More4 News showed several potential problems that could restrict or even block many disabled people from accessing the site fully and easily.

Problems include:

*The site is unusable with text in the largest settings and incompatible with screen reading technology, so cannot be used by those with partial and total blindness

*None of its pages reach the World Wide Web Consortium guidelines for accessibility, meaning the website is not compatible with all web browsers

*Video and audio files, including a virtual tour of Downing Street, are only accessible by mouse and there are no subtitles or transcripts provided

*The site’s design may be particularly hard to navigate for those with learning difficulties

Robin Christopherson, one of the AbilityNet experts who tested the site, said: “The government has threatened to take away the ‘dot gov’ domain on inaccessible websites and though that has never been put into action, in theory they could decide to sanction the Downing Street site.

“Given its obvious high-profile, it’s a shame no significant thought went into accessibility.”

A Downing Street spokeswoman said: “Whilst every effort is made to ensure the whole site conforms, this is an ongoing process and some content may not yet reach the standards in all areas, and we will be working hard to address them by the end of the year.”