Accessibility

Accessibility statement for the Scottish Enterprise website

We want to make our services accessible to everyone who could benefit from them, irrespective of any disability they may have.

Scottish Enterprise are committed to making this 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 Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 AA standard, due to the issues listed on this page.

This statement was prepared on 14 September 2020. It was last reviewed on 14 September 2020.

How we approach accessibility

We regularly test our websites with disabled users to identify and address any issues. We have an in-house accessibility lab and testing team, who test new features and changes to the site for accessibility issues. This website was last tested in September 2018. The test was carried out by our internal test team.

As well as aiming to build our website in a way that’s easy for all users to use and navigate, we’re also working towards making the language we use as simple as possible to understand by using plain English principles.

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

Accessibility problems we’ve found

During testing of our website, we’ve found the following problems, which we’ll aim to fix by December 2022. Once we’ve fixed a problem, we’ll remove it from this list.

The navigation menu:

• When navigating through the site using a keyboard, it’s not possible to use the enter key to open the navigation menu
• Assistive technology may not be able to detect the open and close buttons for the navigation menu
• When using the navigation menu on mobile, users can tab straight from the end of one navigation section to the beginning of the next, meaning it’s not always clear what section they’re in
• When using the navigation menu on mobile, the back button is at the top of each sub-navigation section, meaning when users get to the bottom of the section, it’s not clear how to go back to the main navigation
• When using the navigation menu on mobile, if a user clicks a navigation heading (a H1), the focus doesn’t automatically switch to the first item (H2) in that section

Using the site:

• There are some problems with labelling in our site search that means assistive technology may not understand when the search field is open or where the close button is
• Code on some of our pages means some text (such as headers or links) will be repeated or missed by assistive technology
• Some of our pages organise content into separate ‘tabs’. Due to some issues with the ways this tab component is built and labelled, assistive technology may struggle to understand what the component is and it may be difficult to navigate through it
• Some pop-ups across the site may not be detected by assistive technology and may be difficult to interact with
• In some sections of the site, assistive technology may detect elements that aren’t active – for example, the ‘close search’ button may be detected even though the search bar isn’t open yet
• The logo in the footer doesn’t have a text description
• Some of our videos use auto-generated captions and therefore are not always accurate
• Some pages use incorrect heading hierarchy which makes it difficult for screen readers to navigate the content on the page
• The table on our cookies policy page doesn’t use the correct header tags
• Our accordion component doesn’t let assistive technology know how many accordions are in a list
• There’s no link to the sitemap in the footer section
• Some elements on some pages don’t appear in the same order visually as they do for screen readers
• Our live chat tool cannot be accessed via a keyboard control

Focus problems:

• When a user clicks the hamburger menu, the focus doesn’t automatically move to the expanded menu
• When a user clicks an item in the navigation menu, the focus doesn’t automatically skip to the first item in that section
• When a user clicks a jump link in a content page, the focus doesn’t move to the section they’ve jumped to

Visual problems:

• On some browsers, the visual indicator we use to show which element is in focus is not very clear and may be easy to miss
• In our service finder component, a submission error is only indicated through a visual change of colour without any explanatory text, and no explanation is given to assistive technology

Problems with links:

• When opening some links, assistive technology does not notify the user that a new window has opened
• Links in the footer are not grouped together by a nav tag, meaning it may be difficult for assistive technology to locate or skip past them

Green jobs content: 

• Checkboxes use an aria-labelledby on the input field and a for attribute on the label. The aria-labelledby is redundant and not needed
• Error messaging is not presented in an accessible manner
• MFA login step is not presented in an accessible manner
• File upload error message not accessible
• File details are not accessible
• File upload button accessibility issues
• 2 main landmarks on every page
• Full definition links implemented incorrectly for accessibility
• Overview section links, would be good to have the step progress fed back as park of the link
• Main site logo link not accessible
• < char used in go back link on eligibility
• Registration has invalid label mapping for terms and privacy policy checkboxes
• Do you have a different trading address? Pressing enter on No radio button shifts focus incorrectly to "Do you have a different trading address?" question
• Address auto complete is not accessible
• Focus trapped in datepicker UI
• Dropdowns are not implemented in an accessible manner
• Page server errors on submission of forms friendly error message are not presented to in an accessible manner

Net Zero Accelerator tool

We've been made aware of blocking issues when assistive technology users attempt to use the Net Zero Accelerator tool found within our sustainability support section.

We're currently putting the tool through a thorough accessibility audit so we can create a prioritised list of issues. We'll then fix these issues in order of priority, with blocking issues fixed first. We expect to complete the audit and blocking fixes by early 2023.

Further details of known issues and fix dates will be added to this page once the audit is complete. If you have any questions, please contact us using the links below.

How we’re addressing accessibility issues

We’re in the process of redesigning and rebuilding some of the components on our website. Many of the issues described on this page will be resolved when these new components are introduced. Remaining issues will be fixed as part of the normal maintenance of the website.

We aim to fix the accessibility issues highlighted on this page by December 2022.

What to do if you cannot access parts of this website

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

• enquiries@scotent.co.uk
• 0300 013 3385 (calls charged at local rates)
• 0141 846 0200 from mobile phones or if outside Scotland

Or you can submit an enquiry using our enquiry form.

If you're deaf or hearing impaired you can use your textphone to contact us through Relay UK, or you can search for Relay UK on the App Store for iPhone or iPad and at Google Play for Android.

Reporting a problem

You can use the same contact details to report an accessibility problem on this website.

If you've contacted us regarding accessibility and are still dissatisfied with our decision or the way we dealt with your complaint, you can ask the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO) to look at it.

The SPSO cannot normally look at:

• A complaint that has not completed our complaints procedure (so please make sure it has done so, before contacting the SPSO)
• Events that happened, or that you became aware of, more than a year ago
• A matter that has been or is being considered in court

Contact the SPSO

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).