This accessibility statement applies to the whole of the https://genomicsengland.co.uk domain. It also covers the documents on the https://s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com domain.

This website is run by Genomics England Limited. 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 and without content being truncated or overlapping
• 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 (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 link text is insufficiently described and does not convey the purpose.
• Some textboxes are missing a visible label to describe it.
• Some forms do not include instructions on how to submit data.
• Some PDFs and other downloadable documents may not be accessible.

Issues affecting people with low vision

• Many combinations of text and background colour do not have sufficient colour contrast.
• Most focus indicators do not have sufficient colour contrast against the background.

Issues affecting video and audio content

• The captions for some video content do not identify the different speakers.
• The video in the Origins page does not contain any captions.
• Some videos have no alternative or audio description for the visual content.

Issues affecting screen reader users

• Some links displayed visually as cards do not provide a good user experience for screen readers when navigating to them and operating them.
• Some form textboxes and buttons do not have any labels or instructions for screen readers to read.
• Some headings are missing so screen reader users cannot identify the structure of the content.
• When error messages are displayed, they are not automatically announced by screen readers.
• Some images that have a text alternative do not correctly describe the link destination. There are also some images do not have appropriate text alternatives, so people using screen readers are reading unnecessary details.

Feedback and contact information

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

• Email: [email protected]
• Call: 0808 2819 535
• Write to: Genomics England. Queen Mary University of London, Dawson Hall, Charterhouse Square. London, EC1M 6BQ.

We’ll consider your request and will usually get back to you in 5 working days. Large amounts of information may take up to 10 working days.

Reporting accessibility problems with this website

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, contact Sharon Jones.

Or contact her via the contact form on our website.

Or write to her at Genomics England, Queen Mary University of London, Dawson Hall, Charterhouse Square, London EC1M 6BQ.

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).

Contacting us by phone or visiting us in person

We provide a telephone number, email address and a contact form on the Contact page of our website.

Technical information about this website’s accessibility

Genomics England Limited 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 and exemptions listed below.

Non-accessible content

Some parts of our website may not work for everyone. The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons.

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

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

• Some video content contains multiple speaker which the captions do not differentiate between those speakers. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.2.2 (Captions (Pre recorded)).
• The video in the Origins page does not contain any captions. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.2.2 (Captions (Pre recorded)).
• Some videos have no alternative or audio description provided for the visual content of the video - This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.2.3 (Audio description or media alternative (Pre-recorded)) and WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.2.5 (Audio description (Pre recorded).
• Some menu links, fieldsets, data tables, labels, headings, buttons, visual card containers and iframes are not marked up correctly for screen readers. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.3.1 (Info and relationships) and WCAG 2.1 success criterion 4.1.2 (Name, role, value).
• Some input fields that collect an individual’s personal data do not have the necessary “autocomplete” attributes. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.3.5 (Identify Input Purpose).
• Some textboxes do not have visible text labels. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 3.3.2 (Labels or instructions).
• Some forms do not include instructions on how to submit data. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 3.3.2 (Labels or instructions).
• There are HTML validation errors on most pages. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 4.1.1 (Parsing).
• Many combinations of text and background colour do not have sufficient colour contrast. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.4.3 (Colour Contrast).
• Most focus indicators do not have sufficient colour contrast against the background. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.4.11 (Non-text Contrast).
• The error messages on some pages cannot be programmatically determined through role or properties such that they can be presented to the user by assistive technologies without receiving focus. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 4.1.3 (Status Messages).
• Some PDFs and other downloadable documents may not be accessible.

We are currently working on a roadmap for fixing these issues.

Disproportionate burden

We do not currently expect to use the “disproportionate burden” exemption as a justification for not fixing any accessibility issues.

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

PDFs and other documents

Some of our PDFs and Word documents are exempt because they were published before 23 September 2018 and do not relate to current administrative processes. Nevertheless, we plan to make them all conformant with WCAG 2.1 AA by the end of 2022.

Any new PDFs or Word documents we publish will meet WCAG 2.1 AA.

What we’re doing to improve accessibility

By the end of 2022 we plan to make all our PDFs conformant with WCAG 2.1 AA.

We are currently working on a roadmap for fixing the issues for the website.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 17 February 2022. It was last published on 17 February 2022.

This website was last tested on 07 February 2022. The test was carried out by Test Partners Ltd supported by Cyber-Duck Ltd.

We followed GOV.UK guidance on deciding how to check the Genomics England website as follows:

1. We used an automated website mapping tool to identify all the pages and documents on the website.
2. We grouped the pages according to type, such as all the News pages, Research and Partnerships, etc.
3. We manually assessed a number of pages from each group to determine the level of consistency within the group and the type of content on those pages.
4. We manually assessed all the “unique” pages such as the home page and Contact Us to determine the type of content on those pages.
5. We identified a minimum representative subset of pages that contain examples of the most common layouts, components, and features, including:
   1. The header and footer.
   2. Important “unique pages”.
   3. Pages with text content and data tables.
   4. Pages with informational images, images of text and video content.
   5. Interactive elements such as forms, tabbed interfaces, carousels, hide / reveal functionality and content filtering.
   6. AJAX content loading.
6. We conducted a manual WCAG audit on the representative subset of pages.

For best results we recommend using an up-to-date version of the Chrome, Firefox, Safari or Internet Explorer web browsers.

Please note that certain features will not be supported in older web browsers. The minimum requirement for Internet Explorer is IE9.