Accessibility statement

This accessibility statement applies to the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority's (IPSA) public website at www.theipsa.org.uk/ and website for MPs at www.ipsaonline.org.uk/

These websites are run by IPSA. We want as many people as possible to be able to use this website. This 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

  • navigate most of the website using speech recognition software

  • listen to most of the website using a screen reader

We also try to make the website text as simple as possible to understand.

If you have a disability, AbilityNet has advice on making your device easier to use.

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

  • you cannot modify the line height or spacing of the text

  • most older PDF documents are not fully accessible to screen reader software – if you experience difficulty using these PDFs, please contact us

  • live video streams do not have captions

  • MP costs’ spreadsheets

  • some of our online forms are difficult to navigate using just a keyboard

  • you cannot skip to the main content when using a screen reader

  • there’s a limit to how far you can magnify the map on our MP staffing & business costs page

  • some of our links and images are not self-explanatory to screen reader users

  • our online survey tool is not announced by screen readers and difficult to use with other assistive technology

We link to websites or software we do not own or manage and cannot guarantee their accessibility.

We are working to address these issues as part of an ongoing programme to improve the accessibility of this website. We will update this statement when these issues have been fixed.

If you need information on this website in a different format such as an accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille, please email communications@theipsa.org.uk.

In your message, include:

  • the web address (URL) of the content

  • a description of the specific section of the page

  • your email address and name

  • the format you need – for example, plain text, large print or audio

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, please email communications@theipsa.org.uk.

If you contact us with a complaint and you are not happy with our response, please contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission is responsible for enforcing the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018 (the “Accessibility Regulations”).

IPSA is committed to making its website accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.

This website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 AA standard, due to the non-compliances listed below.

  • the search autocomplete function is missing some attributes required for screenreaders

  • on the MPs’ staffing & business costs page, our Interactive map is not fully accessible for screenreaders, and the colour contrast used to denote political parties may negatively impact the experience of visually impaired users

The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons.

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

WCAG 4.1.2 (Name, Role, Value): This refers to the autocomplete function in our search bar.

ARIA input fields must have an accessible name ARIA input fields and toggle fields must have an accessible name that details the purpose. This provides context to users of assistive technology and ensures custom controls are read correctly. For example, accessible names should be added to elements with roles – the search bar element is missing a title attribute.

Some of our PDFs are essential to providing our services. For example, we have PDFs with information on how users can access our services, or which relate to annual reports or consultations.

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 PDF documents within our Publications section before 2015.

Any new PDFs or Word documents we publish will meet accessibility standards.

We want our teams to develop accessible services by:

  • considering accessibility at the start of a project, and throughout

  • making accessibility the whole team's responsibility

  • researching with disabled users

  • using accessible components and patterns

  • carrying out regular accessibility audits and testing

  • designing and building to level AA of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.1)

This statement was prepared on 11 January 2021. It was last reviewed on 23 July 2021.