IT Futures

University of Edinburgh

Accessibility Statement for IT Futures Conference Webpages

Accessibility Statement for the IT Futures Conference Webpages

Website accessibility statement inline with Public Sector Body (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018

This accessibility statement applies to:

https://www.itfutures.ed.ac.uk/ and the conference registration (link to be added once available)

This website is run by Information Services Group at the University of Edinburgh. We want as many people as possible to be able to use this website. For example, that means you should be able to:

  • using your browser settings, change colours, contrast levels and fonts;
  • zoom in up to 500% without the text spilling off the screen and the pages will reflow
  • navigate most of the website using just a keyboard;
  • listen to most of the website using a screen reader
  • there is no flashing, scrolling or moving text
  • use the website without encountering any time limits.

We’ve also made the website text as simple as possible to understand.

Customising the website

AbilityNet has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability. This is an external site with suggestions to make your computer more accessible:

AbilityNet – My Computer My Way

With a few simple steps you can customise the appearance of our website using your browser settings to make it easier to read and navigate:

Additional information on how to customise our website appearance

If you are a member of University staff or a student, you can use the free SensusAccess accessible document conversion service:

Information on SensusAccess

How accessible this website is

We know some parts of this website are not fully accessible:

  • Most color contrasts do not meet the required standards
  • It is not possible to use a keyboard to navigate to all content
  • Keyboard navigation could be clearer in informing users where they have reached on a page;
  • The site contains PDF’s that are not accessible
  • Link text is not always descriptive of link purpose
  • The site is not fully compatible with screen readers
  • The application on which photos of previous events is not fully accessible due to a lack of alt text and compatibility with assistive technology

Feedback and contact information

If you need information on this website in a different format, including accessible PDF, large print, audio recording or braille:

We will consider your request and get back to you in 5 working days.

Reporting accessibility problems with this website

We are 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, please contact:

We will consider your request and get back to you in 5 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 please contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS) directly:

Contact details for the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS)

The government has produced information on how to report accessibility issues:

Reporting an accessibility problem on a public sector website

Contacting us by phone using British Sign Language

British Sign Language service

contactSCOTLAND-BSL runs a service for British Sign Language users and all of Scotland’s public bodies using video relay. This enables sign language users to contact public bodies and vice versa. The service operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week:

contactSCOTLAND-BSL service details.

Technical information about this website’s accessibility

The University of Edinburgh is committed to making its websites and applications 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 (WCAG) 2.1 AA standard, due to the non-compliances listed below.

The full guidelines are available at:

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 AA standard

Non accessible content

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

Noncompliance with the accessibility regulations

The following items to not comply with the WCAG 2.1 AA success criteria:

Unless specified otherwise, a complete solution, or significant improvement, will be in place for those items within our control by July 2022

Disproportionate burden

We are not currently claiming that any accessibility problems would be a disproportionate burden to fix.

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

The site contains PDF’s from previous conferences, whilst some of these are included in the regulations  (as they were published after 23rd September 2018) some are excluded on the basis

 “These Regulations do not apply to the following content of a website or mobile application of a public sector body—

(a)office file formats published before 23rd September 2018, unless such content is needed for active administrative processes relating to the tasks performed by the public sector body;

 (h)content of websites and mobile applications qualifying as archives.

(3) In this regulation—

(a)“archives” means a website or mobile application which—

(i)only contains content that is not needed for active administrative processes; and

(ii)is not updated or edited after 23rd September 2019;”

The Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018

The PDF’s of slides prior to 2019 we regard as Archive sites and therefore exempt as the content is not updated or edited and is not needed for active purposes. However we would hope to improve the accessibility of these slides as times and resources permit.

What we’re doing to improve accessibility

We will continue to address the accessibility issues highlighted, to deliver a solution or suitable workaround. Unless specified otherwise, a complete solution or significant improvement will be in place for those items within our control by July 2022.

While we are in the process of resolving these accessibility issues, or where we are unable, we will ensure reasonable adjustments are in place to make sure no user is disadvantaged. As changes are made, we will continue to review accessibility and retest the accessibility of this website.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 7th September 2021. It was last reviewed on 7th September 2021.

This website was last tested by the University of Edinburgh’s Disability Information team in July 2021, using the Microsoft Edge (84.0.522.52), Mozilla Firefox (78.5.0esr), Internet Explorer (11.0.9600.19236) and Google Chrome (86.0.4240.198) browsers. Internet Explorer was one of the most commonly used browsers by disabled people, specifically due to its accessibility features and compatibility with assistive technology.

UK Government assistive technology browser survey.

However, recent non UK government research has suggested Chrome may now be the preferred browser of choice for screen reader users.

2021 WebAim screen reader survey.

The aforementioned browsers have been used in certain questions for reasons of breadth and variety.

We tested:

  • Spellcheck functionality;
  • Scaling using different resolutions and reflow;
  • Options to customise the interface (magnification, font, background colour et. cetera);
  • Keyboard navigation and keyboard traps;
  • Data validation;
  • Warning of links opening in a new tab or window;
  • Information conveyed in colour or sound only;
  • Flashing, moving or scrolling text;
  • Operability if JavaScript is disabled;
  • Use with screen reading software (for example, JAWS);
  • Assistive software (TextHelp Read and Write, ZoomText, Dragon NaturallySpeaking);
  • Tooltips and text alternatives for any non-text content;
  • Time limits.