Accessibility statement
This accessibility statement applies to the domain www.nibsc.org.
This website is run by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). 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 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 (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:
- There are some elements missing proper labels or attributes
- Alternative text is not available for all visual content
- Not all areas of the site (drug profiles) can be accessed by those using a screen reader or keyboard
- The site is not responsive
Feedback and contact information
If you need information on this website in a different format like accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille:
We’ll consider your request and get back to you in 18 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 webupdates@mhra.gov.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 MHRA is committed to making its websites 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.
Non-accessible content
The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons.
Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations
No skip link is provided to bypass repeated sections of content (WCAG 2.1 success criteria 2.4.1)
The focus order is not predictable on the shopping cart buttons (WCAG 2.1 success criteria 2.4.3)
An obvious focus indicator is missing on all pages (WCAG 2.1 success criteria 2.4.7)
The page reloads without warning upon the focus reaching ‘remove’ link (WCAG 2.1 success criteria 3.2.1)
A form field input has been used in order to implement mobile navigation (WCAG 2.1 success criteria 1.3.1 and 3.2.2)
There is a colour contrast issue on most pages (WCAG 2.1 success criteria 1.4.3)
Images containing text are used to convey information instead of using text (WCAG 2.1 success criteria 1.4.5)
There is loss of functionality when pages on the site are in 200% or above zoom (WCAG 2.1 success criteria 1.4.10)
Loss of information occurs when overriding spacing (WCAG 2.1 success criteria 1.4.12)
Alternative text is not provided for linked in the footer (WCAG 2.1 success criteria 1.1.1)
Only colour is used to differentiate between pause and play on the homepage carousel (WCAG 2.1 success criteria 1.4.1)
Some of the links do not have proper descriptive text (WCAG 2.1 success criteria 2.4.4)
Error messages were not provided for invalid form fields (WCAG 2.1 success criteria 3.3.1)
Some elements are not nested according to their specifications (WCAG 2.1 success criteria 4.1.1)
Elements which act as a button were incorrectly given the role of a link (WCAG 2.1 success criteria 4.1.2)
No autocomplete function is available on the Pay Now inputs (WCAG 2.1 success criteria 1.3.5)
Carousels start automatically and loop continuously (WCAG 2.1 success criteria 2.2.2)
Error messages do not provide suggestions to the user to rectify the issue (WCAG 2.1 success criteria 3.3.3)
Disproportionate burden
We are currently rebuilding this service on a new system, work which is currently in a scoping stage and is due to be completed by end-2021. We will adhere to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1. AA standard for all new and amended content and pages as the service is built.
We have assessed the cost of fixing the issues identified on the existing site that is scheduled to be replaced and believe that doing so now would be a disproportionate burden within the meaning of the accessibility regulations.
What we’re doing to improve accessibility
We are currently rebuilding this service on a new system: it is in a scoping stage and we will be seeking public feedback. As we start to develop the service we will improve accessibility. We will adhere to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1. AA standard for all new and amended content and pages as the service is built.
A comprehensive manual audit of the site was carried out by an expert third party in June 2020. Test failures from the existing system have been reported to our development team to take into account with the new system build and we will conduct a comprehensive manual audit of the new site before the system goes live.
This work is expected to be completed by end of 2021.
Preparation of this accessibility statement
This statement was prepared on 18 September 2020. It was last reviewed this date.
This website was last tested on 6 June 2020 by Nomensa.
How we test this website
We test this website using automated and manual accessibility tests. Both types of testing are run against the W3C WAI Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1.
We do manual testing by selecting a representative sample of web pages (typically between 10 and 20 pages) and check that they are compliant with the guidelines. Our testers use the WAVE Chrome browser extension, which applies a range of checks to the web page under test. Our testers also manually navigate around the pages and check that content is presented in a logical order.
We use a Microsoft Tool, Accessibility Insights, to carry out automatic testing.