This accessibility statement applies to Learning Support Fund.
This website is run by the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA). 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 just a keyboard or speech recognition software (Dragon)
- listen to most of the website using a screen reader (including the most recent version of NVDA)
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, as:
- when viewed on a mobile device, the contents of one table spills off the page and making it more difficult to read
- when changing your password there are 2 pages which have the same page titles - this could cause the user to not realise their password has been changed successfully
- when updating your password, the error message for two fields is identical
- some link text when viewed out of context does not give the user a clear understanding of the purpose of the link
- users that are signed in are not informed that their session will expire after a certain amount of inactivity
How to request content in an accessible format
If you need information on this website in a different format such as accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille, you can contact us by:
Email: accessibility@nhsbsa.nhs.uk
We’ll consider your request and get back to you in 5 working days.
This email address is only for accessibility queries. It is not for technical queries or IT problems. If you have a query that is not about accessibility, go to the ‘Contact us’ section of this page.
Reporting accessibility problems with this website
We’re always looking to improve the accessibility of this website. If you find any problems that are not listed on this page or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, you can contact us by:
Email: accessibility@nhsbsa.nhs.uk
This email address is only for accessibility queries. It is not for technical queries or IT problems. If you have a query that is not about accessibility, go to the ‘Contact us’ section of this page.
Contact us
For all queries not accessibility related, you can contact us by:
Email: lsfcomplaints@nhsbsa.nhs.uk
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
The NHSBSA 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 2.2 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
When viewed on a mobile device, the contents of one table spills off the page making it more difficult to read. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criteria 1.3.4 (Orientation) and 1.4.10 (Reflow).
When changing your password there are 2 pages which have the same page titles, this could cause the user to not realise their password has been changed successfully. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 2.4.2 (Page Titled).
When updating your password, the error message for two fields is identical. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 3.3.1 (Error Identification).
Some link text when viewed out of context does not give the user a clear understanding of the purpose of the link. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 2.4.9 (Link Only).
Users that are signed in are not informed that their session will expire after a certain amount of inactivity. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criteria 2.2.6 (Timeouts) and 4.1.3 (Status Messages).
We plan to fix these issues. When we publish new content, we’ll make sure it meets accessibility standards.
Content that’s not within the scope of the accessibility regulations
Due to an issue with Dragon voice recognition and some older versions of this assistive technology, users will have difficulties interacting with certain fields. We advise Dragon users to use the mouse grid feature to interact with these features.
What we’re doing to improve accessibility
We’re committed to making sure this website is compliant to WCAG 2.2 ‘AA’ standard.
Our accessibility compliance statement will be reviewed regularly. Every newly released website will be designed, built, and tested to meet ‘AA’ standards by default.
Preparation of this accessibility statement
This statement was originally prepared on 17 September 2020. It was last reviewed on 05 August 2024.
This website was last tested on 9 July 2024 against the WCAG 2.2 AA standard.
The test was carried out by the NHSBSA test and development teams. The most viewed pages were tested using automated testing tools by our website team. A further audit of the website was carried out to the WCAG 2.2 AA standard.
We tested all the website screens to meet ‘AA’ WCAG 2.2 standards, using manual and automated tests.
We run each webpage through automated Wave, Lighthouse and Axe accessibility tools then manually test with screen readers (NVDA or VoiceOver) and standards checklists.
We run representative user journey tests through speech recognition software (Dragon or Voice Control).
These checklists contain standards that have been compiled using WCAG, the NHS service manual and the Government Digital Service (GDS) guidance.