Skip to main content

Change your cookie settings

We cannot change your cookie settings at the moment because JavaScript is not running in your browser. To fix this, try:

  1. turning on JavaScript in your browser settings
  2. reloading this page
View cookies
Department for Environment
Food & Rural AffairsData Services Platform
Create an accountLogin

Change your cookie settings

We cannot change your cookie settings at the moment because JavaScript is not running in your browser. To fix this, try:

  1. turning on JavaScript in your browser settings
  2. reloading this page
View cookies
Department for Environment
Food & Rural AffairsData Services Platform
Create an accountLogin
  1. Home
  2. Support
  3. FAQs
  4. Accessibility statement for DEFRA Data Services
  • Accessibility statement for DEFRA Data Services

Accessibility statement for DEFRA Data Services

Created: 27 January 2025 Updated: 03 February 2025

This accessibility statement applies to https://environment.data.gov.uk/

This website is run by DEFRA. 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 using browser or device settings

  • Zoom in up to 400% without the text spilling off the screen

  • Navigate most of the website using a keyboard or speech recognition software

  • Listen to most of the website using a screen reader (including the most recent versions of JAWS, NVDA and VoiceOver)

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:

  • Some elements may not appear to be actionable to screen reader software users.

  • Some elements may not appear to be actionable to voice activation software users.

  • There are elements present without a visible label, or visible labels do not match the accessible name of the elements.

  • Users focus is not managed when interacting with dynamic content.

  • There a visually hidden content which is actionable by users of assistive technology.

  • Some page titles are non-descriptive.

  • The skip to main content link is not present, does not work, or does not take the user to the correct region of the page.

  • Expandable content does not indicate its expanded state.

  • Interactive elements have not been grouped appropriately.

  • Form labels have not been implemented correctly.

  • There are areas present where the colour alone is used to convey information.

  • There are decorative icons present.

  • There are informative icons present which do not have a text equivalent.

  • Visual headings have not been marked up correctly.

  • Pagination links are not accurately conveyed to users of assistive technology and are non-descriptive.

  • Lists have not been provided programmatically or are not accurate for screen reader software users.

  • Elements revealing additional content do not perform as expected in addition to being non-descriptive.

  • The heading structure of some pages is not informative when compared to the visual representation.

  • Some focusable components do not receive focus in an order that preserved meaning and operability.

  • Tables have been implemented incorrectly.

  • There are complex images present for which the alt text does not convey the same information.

  • There are links present without a visible name.

  • Accordions have been implemented incorrectly and also have instances of no focus when navigating via keyboard.

  • There a pages present which may not be read correctly with screen reader software due to the language not being set.

  • There are instructions provided which rely solely on sensory characteristics.

  • Some maps do not have a text alternative.

  • The colour contrast of some elements and text does not meet the minimum requirements.

  • There are headings and elements present which are non-descriptive.

  • A visible focus indicator is not present in parts of the service.

  • Content on some pages cannot be magnified without loss of information or functionality and without scrolling in two dimensions or content becomes lost or difficult to distinguish when the page is magnified.

Feedback and contact information

If you find any problems not listed on this page or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, contact: Give Feedback

 If you need information on this website in a different format like accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille please provide feedback on this form.

We’ll consider your request and get back to you in within 5 days and provide a response within 20 working days.

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

DEFRA 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

The website has been tested against the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 AA standard.

This website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.2 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

  • Actionable behaviour has been associated with non-semantic elements which do not behave as expected with assistive technology. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criteria 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (Level A), 2.1.1 Keyboard (Level A), and 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value (Level A).

  • Form fields did not have a static visible label. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 3.3.2 Labels or Instructions (Level A).

  • Users focus is not managed when interacting with dynamic content. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 2.4.3 Focus Order (Level A).

  • Actionable behaviour has been associated with non-semantic elements which do not behave as expected with assistive technology, and also visually hidden content is still discoverable. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criteria 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (Level A), 2.1.1 Keyboard (Level A), and 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value (Level A).

  • Page titles are non-descriptive regarding the topic or purpose of the page. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 2.4.2 Page Titled (Level A).

  • The target for the skip to main content link has not been correctly specified. This fails WCAG success criterion 2.4.1 Bypass Blocks (Level A).

  • There was no appropriate indication of the expandable functionality or expanded state on elements. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value (Level A).

  • Interactive elements have not been grouped appropriately using sufficient grouping methods. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (Level A).

  • A label is present but is not programmatically associated to the form element. This fails WCAG 2.2 criteria 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (Level A), and 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value (Level A).

  • Form elements are problematic for screen reader and keyboard only users as the expected behaviour is not intuitive and elements have not been created using the correct mark-up. This fails WCAG success criteria 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (Level A), and 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value (Level A).

  • Colour was used as the only visual means of conveying information, indicating an action, prompting a response, or distinguishing a visual element. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.4.1 Use of Colour (Level A).

  • Decorative icons have been implemented but are conveyed to assistive technologies. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.1.1 Non-text Content (Level A).

  • Informative icons have been included without a text equivalent. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criteria 1.1.1 Non-text Content (Level A), and 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (Level A).

  • Relationships between content had not been provided programmatically. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (Level A).

  • Elements revealing additional content did not perform as expected in addition to being non-descriptive. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criteria 1.3.2 Meaningful Sequence (Level A), and 2.4.6 Headings and Labels (Level AA).

  • Lists have been implemented incorrectly as they do not provide screen reader users with accurate information. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (Level A).

  • The heading structure of the page is not informative compared to the visual representation. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (Level A).

  • Focusable components did not receive focus in an order that preserved meaning and operability. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 2.4.3 Focus Order (Level A).

  • Tables have been incorrectly implemented which might impact how they are conveyed to screen reader users. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (Level A).

  • There are complex images present that do not have a text equivalent to convey the same information. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criteria 1.1.1 Non-text Content (Level A), and 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (Level A).

  • The visible label does not match the accessible name of the element. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 2.5.3 Label in Name (Level A).

  • A ‘Skip to main content’ link is not present or did not work as expected. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 2.4.1 Bypass Blocks (Level A).

  • The purpose of links could not be determined from the link text together with the programmatically determined link context. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criteria 2.4.3 Focus Order (Level A), 2.4.4 Link Purpose (In Context) (Level A), and 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value (Level A).

  • Custom accordions have been implemented incorrectly and also have instances of no focus highlighting when navigating via keyboard. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criteria 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (Level A), 2.4.6 Headings and Labels (Level AA), 2.4.7 Focus Visible (Level AA), and 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value (Level A).

  • No ‘lang’ attribute on the page means screen reading software may not read the page correctly. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 3.1.1 Language of Page (Level A).

  • Actionable behaviour has been associated with non-semantic elements which do not behave as expected with assistive technology. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criteria 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (Level A), 2.4.3 Focus Order (Level A), 4.1.2 Name, and Role, Value (Level A).

  • Instructions provided for understanding and operating content relied solely on sensory characteristics of components such as the visual location. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.3.3 Sensory Characteristics (Level A).

  • Interactive map does not have a text alternative to convey the same information to users. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criteria 1.1.1 Non-text Content (Level A), 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (Level A), 2.1.1 Keyboard (Level A), and 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value (Level A).

  • The colour of certain elements had a low colour contrast ratio and may be difficult for some low vision user to decipher. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.4.11 Non-text Contrast (Level AA).

  • The contrast ratio between foreground and background colours failed to meet the expected ratios. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.4.3 Contrast (Minimum) (Level AA).

  • Programmatical headings are non-descriptive. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 2.4.6 Headings and Labels (Level AA).

  • Form elements accessible names are non-descriptive. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 2.4.6 Headings and Labels (Level AA).

  • A visible focus indicator is not present in parts of the service. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 2.4.7 Focus Visible (Level AA).

  • Content could not be magnified without loss of information or functionality and without scrolling in two dimensions. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.4.10 Reflow (Level AA).

  • Content becomes lost or difficult to distinguish when the page is magnified. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criteria 1.4.4 Resize text (Level AA), and 1.4.10 Reflow (Level AA).

Disproportionate burden

Unknown

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

PDF’s in Reservoir Flood Map application

PDF’s in Drinking Water application

What we’re doing to improve accessibility

This is a new version of the website that is awaiting a full third party audit. It has been checked internally by the Defra accessibility team and the issues identified have been passed to the supplier to be fixed. When the full audit is completed, any further issues identified will be prioritised and we will work with the supplier to resolve them in a timely fashion

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 29th October 2024. It was last reviewed on 05 November 2024.

 This website was partially tested on 17th October against the WCAG 2.2 AA standard. The test was carried out by Digital Accessibility Centre.