Accessibility statement for the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office

tags that have had event handlers applied in order to emulate a functional element; however, as these elements are not marked up as standard html, they have no role for assistive technology to recognise as interactive. This means that assistive technology may not be able to recognise the functionality of these components to present their purpose to users.
Voice activation users are unable to reference the component to their assistive technology by speaking the visual label, as these custom controls do not possess a valid role, i.e., a button or link.

•    Screen reader users are not informed of the currently active element. There is a navigation menu with a visual indication that ‘2024/2025’ is currently selected; however, screen reader users are not informed of this through the use of an aria-current attribute. This means that screen reader users are missing out on information that is visually present on the page.

•    The required data entry format for a date field was only provided as placeholder text. The specific format required for the date entry on the ‘open a new complaint’ page, is only presented to users via the use of placeholder text in the input field. Placeholder text, which disappears when users start typing, is not a sufficient substitute for visible labels or instructions. This can lead to confusion, especially for users with cognitive disabilities or those using assistive technologies, as they may not receive the necessary guidance for accurate data entry.

•    Some decorative content is present but has not been hidden from screen reader users. Decorative content is present that hasn’t been concealed from screen reader users. The ‘✓’, and ‘X’ symbols are contained within the headings ‘We can investigate’ and ‘We cannot investigate’, but have not been hidden from assistive technology, meaning screen reader users will encounter them when navigating the page in context.

•    The focus order of a page did not follow a logical order preserving operability and meaning. The alert message informing users of their successful email confirmation has been added to the tab order of the page for users navigating with a keyboard via the addition of a ‘tabindex’ attribute with a value of ‘0’ on the containing element. Assigning a ‘tabindex’ with a value of ‘0’ to a should generally be avoided because it creates accessibility and usability issues for keyboard and screen reader users. A is a generic container with no inherent semantic meaning or interactive role, and when made focusable, it does not communicate any purpose to assistive technologies, unlike native interactive elements such as buttons, links, or form controls. This can confuse users who rely on screen readers, as they may navigate to an element that appears to be interactive but provides no clear function. Additionally, making non-interactive elements focusable unnecessarily increases the number of focusable elements on a page, making keyboard navigation more cumbersome.

•    Page title: Disciplinary Statements · Customer Self-Service. When the page loads, focus is automatically set to the ‘2024/2025’ year range selector. This can be disorientating for keyboard only users and screen reader users who would have expected their focus to land on the top of the page. The reason this occurs is due to the first statement date selection possessing an ‘autofocus’ attribute which draws a user’s programmatical focus to it when arriving on the page instead of setting it at the start as would be expected.

•    Page title: Magistrates Complaints · Customer Self-Service. Each of the ‘Back to top’ links when actioned only move the users visual focus to the top of the page, the programmatic focus remains on the actioned element. This is problematic as users that rely on keyboard only users and screen reading software rely on their programmatic focus being managed so that they can track where their focus will land. This is due to the link destination set by the ‘href’ being ‘#’, which does not match an existing ID value elsewhere on the page for the focus to be taken to.

•    Headings have been applied to links which may provide a confusing navigation for screen reader users. The links ‘Create A Complaint’ and ‘Sign In With Account’ have been marked up as headings. This could create semantic confusion for screen reader users as they rely on links to indicate interactive elements that perform a function, such as navigating to another page. Headings on the other hand, are used to provide structure, help users navigate content, and introduce sections of a page. As the links do not serve that purpose, combining these two roles can make navigation unclear and difficult for users that rely on screen reading software.

•    Content was not accessible with the use of a keyboard alone. The links provided for users in the different years have been provided with additional description using the title attribute to convey that they open in a new window when viewing the pop-up tooltip with mouse hover. However, the same information is not accessible for users who navigate the page with a keyboard alone, as the tooltip does not appear when the links receive keyboard focus.

•    ARIA attributes were used on inappropriate elements. Each of the table cells () elements inside the complaint table has been provided with an aria attribute ‘aria-readonly’ and a value of ‘true’. Using ‘aria-readonly’ on a element is not appropriate because ‘aria-readonly’ is designed for interactive widgets like textboxes, grid cells, or tree items. Since a standard is not inherently interactive, assistive technologies may not interpret ‘aria-readonly’ correctly, leading to confusion or lack of proper feedback for users.

•    Information and relationships in content were not provided for users of screen reading assistive technologies as they were presented to users visually. After a user triggers the error handling on the ‘Sign in’ page, they are presented with a summary box conveying that there are errors present on the page. However, the structure of the headings used does not convey the same information and relationships in content for users of screen reading assistive technologies as that are presented visually for users, as the heading ‘Error’ has been marked up as a level 1 heading. This means that the user is instructed that the error content is not related to the preceding heading ‘Sign in with your account’. Note: This issue is present on both the ‘sign in’ and ‘Register’ page.

•    Page title: Register & Customer Self-Service Journey: 2 Step: 2. The heading structure of the ‘Register’ page contains nested headings. There is a level 2 heading containing the password information text in addition to the level 4 heading ‘Register for a new account’. This can make it difficult for users to grasp the hierarchy of information, leading to frustration and potential misinterpretation of content and their programmatical relationships.

•    Page title: Profile · Customer Self-Service Journey: 2 Step: 3. The ‘profile’ heading has been marked up as a level 2 heading as well as the ‘Your Information’ heading. This means that users of screen reading assistive technologies are told that they are equal sections and are not related to one another. However, this does not match the same information and relationships in content to which users are provided with visually, as the ‘profile’ heading introduces the page and provides a purpose for all content on the page, including introducing the sub section ‘Your Information’.

•    Page title: 46042/25 · Customer Self-Service Journey: 2 Step: 8. After a user adds multiple comments or files, they are presented visually to users in a way that allows them to relate the content and differentiate one comment from another. Users of screen reading assistive technologies are not provided with the same information and relationships in content as although the text ‘Jake Roberts #Microsoft CRM Portals’ is marked up as a heading, it precedes the time and date information and therefore, this content is not programmatically sectioned by these headings.

•    Page title: Who can I complain about? · Customer Self-Service Journey: 1 Step: 3. Due to screen reader users only being informed that the breadcrumb list is a list of links, they are not given the same navigational experience as sighted users due to the visual styling of the breadcrumb list. Additionally, screen reader users are informed that the link list contains two items; however, only one item is read out. If navigated through via the down arrow, only one list item is encountered before the list ends. This could cause confusion for users who would expect who hear two separate links.

•    A list item element did not possess the appropriate parent elements. The list of error skip links presented to users have been nested inside a parent element that has been assigned a role of ‘presentation’. Applying role="presentation" to an element has the effect of hiding an element's semantics from assistive technologies by declaring that the element is only being used for presentational purposes. Where this role is applied improperly it will prevent the structure from being relayed correctly to screen reader users. Using the right elements to structure lists is important for keeping things clear, structured, and accessible. Screen readers rely on properly marked-up lists to announce how many items there are and in what order, helping visually impaired users navigate more easily. If lists aren’t built correctly with missing parent elements, screen readers might not recognise them properly, making the content harder to understand. Note: This issue is present on both the ‘Sign in’ and ‘Register’ page.

•    A user’s focus was not trapped inside a modal dialog. As users of screen reading assistive technologies navigate through the ‘Add a comment’ dialog, they can move their focus outside of the dialog and back onto the content behind it. Trapping focus within a modal dialog is essential for ensuring that screen reader users and keyboard-only users can navigate it effectively. Without focus trapping, users may inadvertently tab out of the modal and interact with content behind it, which can be confusing and disrupt the user experience.

•    Components did not possess the required aria to convey all relevant information to users of screen reading assistive technologies. The tabs such as ‘Sign in’ do not inform users of screen reading assistive technologies which option is currently selected as the ‘tab’ does not possess such aria attributes as ‘ariacurrent’. Without this information being conveyed to the user, the user must navigate through other content of the page to understand their current location and page state.

•    Page title: My Complaints · Customer Self-Service Journey: 2 Step: 5. The button provided to enable users to expand the ‘My Open Complaints’ content has not been provided with the appropriate aria attributes to convey that it can be expanded, or that it has been once activated. Using aria-expanded is important because it provides essential information to screen reader users about the state of interactive elements, such as dropdown menus, accordions, and expandable sections. Without it, users relying on assistive technology may not know whether a section is currently open or closed, leading to confusion and difficulty navigating content.

•    A form input did not possess a persistent visible label. The element provided to enable users to make a selection of the dropdown in order to change content of the table has not been provided with a clear persistent visual label to indicate its purpose. The elements name changes depending on which of the dropdown list options is active, meaning the element appears to be named by its value, which is not static. The functionality should be provided with a static persistent visible label to indicate its purpose to users. Persistent visible labels allow users to understand the data selection that is required, as well as allowing users who navigate with voice activation to easily access and interact with the form using the expected verbal command of the visual label.

•    Links were not descriptive of their purpose or destination. The logo link in the header for ‘Judicial Conduct Investigations Office’, has been provided with an accessible name set by the ‘alt’ attribute of the element. However, this value does not convey the purpose of the link and instead conveys the purpose of the image, as it has been set as ‘Judicial Conduct Investigations Office logo’. Screen reader users would expect all image links to convey their purpose and destination, not the logo being displayed visually. Note: This issue is present on both the ‘Sign in’ and ‘Register’ page.

•    The page title is not descriptive of the pages content or purpose. The page title of ‘KA-01012 · Customer Self-Service’ is not descriptive of the contents on the page. This means that screen reader users would be required to navigate the content on the page in order to understand its contents

•    A timeout was present which did not allow the user to turn off, adjust, or extend it. As a user tries to submit a new complaint and have taken a particular amount of time to do so, they are directed back to the sign in process and page. However, as this happens, the user is not presented with the opportunity to extend, adjust, or turn off the timeout functionality. It is important to allow users to turn off, extend, or adjust timeouts in a service to ensure accessibility and usability for all individuals, particularly those with disabilities. Some users, such as those with motor impairments, cognitive disabilities, or those using assistive technologies, may require more time to complete tasks, enter information, or navigate the interface. Unexpected timeouts can lead to frustration, loss of progress, or exclusion from using a service altogether.

•    A tooltip has not been implemented correctly. There is a tooltip that is provided on a span within the link of ‘Change Email’. Users that access this content via keyboard navigation will need to press tab/down arrow an extra time to access the text within the tooltip, which will give the information ‘Unconfirmed’. This could cause confusion as there is not enough context for screen reader users to understand what is unconfirmed. The span should not be receiving focus as it is not a valid attribute to support the use of aria-label despite having the role="tooltip" applied, and it does not carry out the correct functionality of a tooltip component. Additionally, voice activation users would not be able to reference this content to access it.

•    Use of colour was the only identifiable difference between plain text and links. There are links throughout that are presented via use of colour alone. The links ‘here’, ‘here’, ‘here’, and ‘reasonable adjustments policy’ (#08367A) are present on the page; however, the only method of differentiating them from the surrounding text (#333333) is by the faint difference in colour. This may be difficult for users with low vision difficulties due to the low contrasting ratio of 1.09:1.

•    Page title: Profile · Customer Self-Service Journey: 2 Step: 3. The ‘change password’ and ‘Change email’ links rely on a change of background colour from white to grey to indicate their focus state for users navigating the page with a keyboard alone. However, the difference in colour does not meet the required colour contrast ratio of 3:1. This means that for users who are unable to differentiate colours easily, may not be able to see where their focus is situated on the page and confidently interact and access the controls.

•    Page title: My Complaints · Customer Self-Service Journey: 2 Step: 5. The interactive table headers only use a change of colour to indicate their focus state to users navigating the page with a keyboard. This means that for users who are unable to differentiate colours easily, may not be able to see where their focus is situated on the page and confidently interact and access the controls.

•    Multiple instructions have been provided via the asterisk symbol (*). On the ‘open a new complaint’ page, users are provided with the instruction that all mandatory fields are marked with an asterisk. Later down the page, they are provided with an asterisk as part of a checkbox label that directs their attention to further information. If an asterisk is used to indicate multiple things, such as required fields in a form, footnotes, or emphasis, users may become confused about its purpose, particularly those with cognitive disabilities or screen reader users who rely on clear, predictable cues. Note: This issue is also used in other locations on this page, regarding the user data entry.

•    Text acting as a heading did not possess the semantic role to convey the same information and relationships in content for users of screen reading assistive technologies. The text ‘Work to assess changes to the Judicial Disciplinary System’, and ‘Confidentiality’ introduce the section of text beneath and in doing so act as headings. However, the same information and relationship is not conveyed to users of screen reading assistive technologies as they do not possess the appropriate semantic role of a heading and instead have only been marked up as a element. Additionally, the visual importance of the element is not conveyed to screen reader users, meaning they will only encounter this as plain text with no emphasis.

•    Page title: Making A Complaint · Customer Self-Service Journey: 2 Step: 1. Throughout the ‘Making a Complaint’ page, there are lines of text visually styled as headings that introduce and section different blocks of content such as ‘Time limit for making a complaint’ and ‘Details we need from you’. However, the same information and relationships are not conveyed to users of screen reading assistive technologies as the text does not possess the appropriate semantic role of a heading and has only been marked up as a and elements. Note: There are visual headings throughout this page which will need to be addressed individually.

•    Page title: Profile · Customer Self-Service Journey: 2 Step: 3. The text ‘Security’ introduces and sections the ‘Change password’ and ‘Change email’ content acting as a heading. However, the same information and relationships are not conveyed to users of screen reading assistive technologies as the text does not possess the appropriate semantic role of a heading and has only been marked up as a element.

•    Page title: 46042/25 · Customer Self-Service Journey: 2 Step: 8. The text ‘timeline’ introduces the section of content displaying a user’s added comments or files. However, the same information and relationships are not conveyed to users of screen reading assistive technologies as the text does not possess the appropriate semantic role of a heading and has only been marked up as a element.

•    Page title: Judicial Conduct Investigations Office · Customer Self-Service Journey: 1 Step: 1. There are two separate elements, ‘Create A Complaint’, and ‘Make Your Complaint’, these appear on two different pages but will lead users that action them to the same destination. This creates an inconsistent navigational journey as users may not realise that the second element also directs them to the same page, leading to an unclear navigation. Users that may be looking for this specific page further into the navigation journey may not be aware that they are able to action the ‘Make Your Complaint’

•    The colour contrast ratio does not meet guidelines requiring that the visual presentation of standard text has a colour contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 and that large text has a colour contrast ratio of at least 3:1. The text ‘Forgot your password?’ does not meet the required coloured contrast ratio against the background of the button when it is mouse hover state, as it only achieves a ratio of 3.2:1. Low contrast between text and background can be especially challenging for people with visual impairments, such as low vision or colour blindness. If the contrast is too weak, users may struggle to distinguish the text, leading to poor readability and a frustrating experience.

•    Page title: Profile · Customer Self-Service Journey: 2 Step: 3. The placeholder text ‘Provide a telephone number’ does not meet the required coloured contrast ratio against the white background as it only achieves a ratio of 2.4:1. Low contrast between text and background can be especially challenging for people with visual impairments, such as low vision or colour blindness. If the contrast is too weak, users may struggle to distinguish the text, leading to poor readability and a frustrating experience.

•    Page title: Profile · Customer Self-Service Journey: 2 Step: 4. After a user confirms their email address, they are presented with a message to inform them that their email has been confirmed successfully. However, this message has been presented as green text on a light green background, which does not meet the required colour contrast ratio of 4.5:1 as it only achieves a ratio of 3.6:1. Low contrast between text and background can be especially challenging for people with visual impairments, such as low vision or colour blindness. If the contrast is too weak, users may struggle to distinguish the text, leading to poor readability and a frustrating experience.

•    Page title: My Complaints · Customer Self-Service Journey: 2 Step: 7. After a user adds a complaint, they are presented with the complaint in a table. In the last column of the table, users are presented with a button to ‘View details’. However, this text has been presented as white text against a light grey background, and therefore, does not meet the required colour contrast ratio against background colours. Low contrast between text and background can be especially challenging for people with visual impairments, such as low vision or colour blindness. If the contrast is too weak, users may struggle to distinguish the text, leading to poor readability and a frustrating experience.

•    Page title: 46042/25 · Customer Self-Service Journey: 2 Step: 8. The text ‘There are no activities to display’ has been placed on a background of similar colour, which means that the text does not meet the required colour contrast ratio of 4.5:1 against the background, as it only achieves a ratio of 2.5:1. Low contrast between text and background can be especially challenging for people with visual impairments, such as low vision or colour blindness. If the contrast is too weak, users may struggle to distinguish the text, leading to poor readability and a frustrating experience.

•    Page title: 46042/25 · Customer Self-Service Journey: 2 Step: 8. The text ‘Created by # Microsoft CRM Portals’ does not meet the required coloured contrast ratio against the white background, as it only achieves a ratio of 2.4:1. Low contrast between text and background can be especially challenging for people with visual impairments, such as low vision or colour blindness. If the contrast is too weak, users may struggle to distinguish the text, leading to poor readability and a frustrating experience.

•    Page title: Judicial Conduct Investigations Office · Customer Self-Service Journey: 1 Step: 1. When viewed in reflow or on a mobile device, there are two ‘Secondary Navigation’ buttons on the page - one at the top and one in the footer. Both buttons have been given the same programmatic label; however, they do not contain the same links. This may cause confusion for users that rely on audible feedback, as they will hear a duplicated label when interacting with either button but will find differing content once expanded. Users with cognitive difficulties may also struggle to understand the purpose of the buttons, as they may expect the same content to appear when expanding either button.

•    Page title: Sign in · Customer Self-Service Journey: 2 Step: 2. When a user enters an incorrect format for the ‘email’ input field, they are presented with an error message reading ‘The Email field doesn’t contain a valid email address’. However, this error message does not convey to the user how to fix the issue and what is needed to amend their current data entry. Some users rely on descriptive error messages to understand what is required to confidently and correctly submit data forms. Note: This issue is present on both the ‘sign in’ and ‘Register’ page.

•    A focus state did not meet the required colour contrast ratios. The ‘Create A Complaint’ and ‘My Complaints’ links rely on a change of colour from solid blue to a red-orange underline to indicate their focus state for users navigating the page with a keyboard alone. However, the difference in colour does not meet the required colour contrast ratio of 3:1. This means that for users who are unable to differentiate colours easily, they may not be able to see where their focus is situated on the page and confidently interact and access the controls.

•    An interactive element did not display a visible focus indicator. The breadcrumb links such as ‘Judicial Conduct Investigations Office’, do not display a visible indicator when receiving keyboard focus if they are selected as the current page. This means that users navigating the page with a keyboard alone are not able to identify their current focus position on the page and confidently interact with the elements at hand.

•    Page title: Sign in · Customer Self-Service Journey: 2 Step: 2. The tabs such as ‘Sign in’ do not display a visible indicator when receiving keyboard focus if they are selected as the current page. This means that users navigating the page with a keyboard alone are not able to identify their current focus position on the page and confidently interact with the elements at hand.

•    Page title: Sign in · Customer Self-Service Journey: 2 Step: 2. The logo link in the header does not display a visible indicator when in a focus state for users navigating the page with a keyboard alone. This means that users navigating the page with a keyboard alone are not able to identify their current focus position on the page and confidently interact with the elements at hand.

•    Page title: Open a New Complaint · Customer Self-Service Journey: 2 Step: 6. The ‘guidance’ link does not display a visible indicator when in a focus state for users navigating the page with a keyboard alone. This means that users navigating the page with a keyboard alone are not able to identify their current focus position on the page and confidently interact with the elements at hand.

•    Non-text content conveying information did not meet the required colour contrast ratios. The dark blue rectangle that denotes the focus highlighting (#08367A) against the dark blue background (#213676) within the dropdown contents of the ‘Making a Complaint’ link may be extremely difficult for users to see where their focus has landed, this is due to the low contrast ratio (1.01:1) that is not sufficient for users with low vision that rely on keyboard only navigation to allow them to differentiate between the focus and the background colour.

•    Page title: Open a New Complaint · Customer Self-Service Journey: 2 Step: 6. The border for the ‘Details of Complaint’ form field is difficult for low vision users to see; this is due to the low contrast ratio (1.62:1) because of the border colour of #CBCBCB when compared to the background of #FFFFFF.

•    Labels were not descriptive enough for users of screen reading assistive technologies. The fieldset element containing the input fields for the ‘your information’ section has been provided with a programmatical/ accessible name set by the ‘aria-label’ as ‘name’. This does not convey the purpose of the group for users of screen reading assistive technologies.

•    Content could not be magnified without loss of information or functionality and without scrolling in two dimensions. Some users require the need to view a page in a single column format with the dimensions set at 320 x 254px at 100% or to the equivalent of 1280 x 1024px with the magnification at 400%; however, this was not possible when the dimensions were set on this page as the content required scrolling in two dimensions. This means that some users who experience visual impairments may be unable to distinguish page content and discern information that is 'off the page’ due to requiring the user to scroll to the side. For users that require the use of assistive technology such as ZoomText, the user will not see that there is a scrollbar at the bottom of the screen and may not know that there is content missing from the page. Additionally, the presence of the side scrollbar means that for users that are able to scroll to see the rest of the content in the top of the page, there will be a large section of blank space where the content has not been wrapped to fit the page. Please note this issue occurs on every page within the scope of the audit.

•    Page title: Judicial Conduct Investigations Office · Customer Self-Service Journey: 1 Step: 1. Some users require the need to view a page in a single column format with the dimensions set at 320 x 254px at 100% or to the equivalent of 1280 x 1024px with the magnification at 400%; however, this was not possible when the dimensions were set on this page as the content required scrolling in two dimensions. When viewed in reflow dimensions, the buttons to access the content for ‘Menu’ and ‘Secondary Navigation’ are placed on the far right of the page, meaning users that may need to access this content at a higher magnification may not be able to locate them easily. This issue is further complicated by the content that is revealed once the buttons are expanded, as the user will see an internal scrollbar beneath the button to show it has been expanded but will need to scroll the page to the other side of the screen to find this content, which may be difficult to see as it appears as though the content has been cut off by the ‘Navigation’ DAC | Accessibility Report 123 When navigating the page, it appears that the content within the ‘Menu’ is cut off by the section for the ‘Secondary Navigation’

•    Page title: Judicial Conduct Investigations Office · Customer Self-Service Journey: 1 Step: 1. Some users require the need to view a page in a single column format with the dimensions set at 320 x 254px at 100% or to the equivalent of 1280 x 1024px with the magnification at 400%; however, this was not possible when the dimensions were set on this page as the content required scrolling in two dimensions. When viewed in reflow dimensions, the buttons to access the menu content, are only accessible after scrolling horizontally, meaning users that may need to access this content at a higher magnification may not be able to locate them easily.

•    Page title: 46042/25 · Customer Self-Service Journey: 2 Step: 8. Some users need to view a page in a single column format with the viewport set at the equivalent of 320px at 100% magnification or 1280px at 400%, without requiring scrolling in multiple directions. However, when using these settings, the text ‘Active - submitted’ is cut off and does not fit into the single column.

•    Page title: Profile · Customer Self-Service Journey: 2 Step: 4a. There is a status message which appears that has not been given the appropriate role of alert to inform screen reader users that it has appeared on the page without requiring the user to navigate the page content.

•    A non-status message possessed a role of alert. re is a visually hidden element that has been assigned a role of alert and an arialabel of “How do I complain?”. This element is encountered by screen reader users navigating the page in context and is repeating the heading level one of the pages, which can be confusing for these users, as this content is not a status message and therefore, should not be conveyed as such to the user.

Low Priority WCAG Level AAA

•    Some of the colour combinations in use on the site are low contrast and are likely to be difficult for people with low vision to read. Some users may still struggle to read the link text 'Skip to content' due to the low contrast of the foreground white text against the adjacent red-orange background colour producing a contrast ratio of 6.27:1. The expected minimum colour contrast ratio for text of this size (12pt/ 16px) and weight (normal) is 7:1. This applies to every instance where this colour combination occurs.

•    Page title: Rules and Regulations · Customer Self-Service Journey: 1 Step: 4. Some users may still struggle to read the link text due to the low contrast of the foreground blue text against the white background colour producing a contrast ratio of 6.62:1. The expected minimum colour contrast ratio for text of this size (12pt/ 16px) and weight (normal) is 7:1. This applies to every instance where this colour combination occurs.

•    Page title: Sign in · Customer Self-Service Journey: 2 Step: 2. Some users may still struggle to read the link text due to the low contrast of the foreground blue text against the pink background colour producing a contrast ratio of 6.06:1. The expected minimum colour contrast ratio for text of this size (12pt/ 16px) and weight (normal) is 7:1. This applies to every instance where this colour combination occurs.

•    Page title: Judicial Conduct Investigations Office · Customer Self-Service Journey: 1 Step: 1. The links of ‘here’ do not inform the user of their function of opening the in a new tab. This can be confusing and disorientating for screen reader users, who may not realise that a new tab has been opened and be unable to navigate back a page using the browsers back functionality. Screen reader users would expect to be informed of any functionality that will cause them to leave the service, whether through a new tab/ window or any other means. This link opens in a new tab due to the target="__blank" attribute given to them. 

•    A mechanism was not available to allow the purpose of each link to be identified from link text alone. There are repeated links ‘here’, ‘here’, and ‘here’ that are non-descriptive for screen reader users when encountered out of context. Screen reader users that navigate pages using out of context navigational methods, such as via a links list, will encounter the three links with no unique identifiable information to understand their purpose. Users that navigate in this method will be forced to switch to in context navigation to explore the page to understand the function and purpose of these links.

•    When viewed in high contrast, elements failed to gain a visible focus. Page title: Judicial Conduct Investigations Office · Customer Self-Service Journey: 1 Step: 1. The links ‘Making a complaint’ and ‘Tribunals & Magistrates’ don’t gain visual focus when tabbing through the page in windows high contrast mode. As the focus indicator must still be visible when the page is viewed in high contrast mode, users that require the use of this mode to achieve the needed contrast to be able to see content will not be able to track their focus on the page. Please note this occurs on every page that has this navigation layout and breadcrumb trail.

•    An illogical heading structure is present. Page title: Tribunals complaints · Customer Self-Service Journey: 1 Step: 5. Heading levels should only increase by one. The heading structure of the page was illogical due the heading levels increasing by more than one level at a time. This may be confusing for some screen readers as the layout of the page will be unclear without a logical and hierarchal heading structure to relate the content. Please note this occurs across multiple pages of the service.

•    When navigating the page with JAWS, the form fields do not behave correctly nor are they labelled appropriately. When navigating the page using screen reading software and interacting with the text area, users are provided with an extensive amount of information and feedback as the ‘roledescription’ attribute possesses all of the HMTL code for the preceding text. For example, the tags and all attributes for the ‘FAQ’ and ‘JCIO’s remit’ links are included.

•    Landmarks have not been used appropriately to provide an accurate layout of the page. Multiple ‘Navigation’ landmarks are present on the page. Screen reader users rely on regions of the page being programmatically identifiable, and when there are multiples of the same region this can cause confusion.

•    Page title: Judicial Conduct Investigations Office · Customer Self-Service Journey: 1 Step: 1. Content that should be included within the ‘Main’ region of the page is not fully encompassed within it. Screen reader users that navigate and gain understanding of the page layout via landmarks may become confused, as the links ‘Create A Complaint’, and ‘Sign In With Account’, as well as the content below fall outside of the region.

•    Page title: Publications · Customer Self-Service Journey: 1 Step: 9. There are two ‘Main’ landmarks on the page have which neither have included the heading level one of the pages. This means that screen reader users will bypass these when navigating to the ‘Main’ on the page out of context either by the skip link or navigating to landmarks. As the heading level one gives them context for the page content, these should not be skipped over by skip links. Additionally, this also means that a user cannot easily understand the relationship between the two main regions on the page.

•    Page title: Disciplinary Statements · Customer Self-Service Journey: 1 Step: 8. The ‘Main’ region of the page doesn’t encapsulate the page, this is due to the parent div containing the role="main" being closed on the same div.

•    Page title: Open a New Complaint · Customer Self-Service Journey: 2 Step: 6. The mouse cursor does not change to indicate that the checkbox is an interactive element. This could lead low vision users to believe that this is not an interactive element on the page and not interact with the required checkbox.

Proposed Solution

We are committed to making our digital services accessible to everyone, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) Accessibility Regulations 2018 and the Equality Act 2010. Following a comprehensive audit by the Digital Accessibility Centre (DAC), we have received a detailed report outlining all areas of non-compliance with the WCAG 2.2 AA standard. Our team is actively reviewing each issue and will prioritise them within our development backlog. This structured approach ensures that accessibility barriers are addressed systematically, with appropriate solutions implemented in future updates. We are committed to resolving these issues as part of our ongoing development roadmap, subject to available resources and budget planning.

Content that’s not within the scope of the DAC audit. These are areas which fail to meet requirements against AAA criteria measured against WCAG2.2 and were not in scope for the JCIO site DAC audit. 

•    Sign Language (Pre-recorded): 1.2.6 Sign language interpretation is provided for all pre-recorded audio content in synchronized media.

•    Extended Audio Description (Pre-recorded): 1.2.7 Where pauses in foreground audio are insufficient to allow audio descriptions to convey the sense of the video, extended audio description is provided for all pre-recorded video content in synchronized media.

•    Media Alternative (Pre-recorded): 1.2.8 An alternative for time-based media is provided for all pre-recorded synchronized media and for all pre-recorded videoonly media.

•    Identify Purpose: 1.3.6 In content implemented using mark-up languages, the purpose of User Interface Components, icons, and regions can be programmatically determined.

•    Contrast (Enhanced): 1.4.6 The visual presentation of text and images of text has a contrast ratio of at least 7:1, except for the following: • Large Text Large-scale text and images of large-scale text have a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1; • Incidental Text or images of text that are part of an inactive user interface component, that are pure decoration, that are not visible to anyone, or that are part of a picture that contains significant other visual content, have no contrast requirement. • Logotypes Text that is part of a logo or brand name has no contrast requirement.

•    Low or No Background Audio: 1.4.7 For pre-recorded audio-only content that (1) contains primarily speech in the foreground, (2) is not an audio CAPTCHA or audio logo, and (3) is not vocalization intended to be primarily musical expression such as singing or rapping, at least one of the following is true: • No Background The audio does not contain background sounds. • Turn Off The background sounds can be turned off. • 20 dB The background sounds are at least 20 decibels lower than the foreground speech content, with the exception of occasional sounds that last for only one or two seconds. Note: Per the definition of "decibel," background sound that meets this requirement will be approximately four times quieter than the foreground speech content.

•    Visual Presentation: 1.4.8 For the visual presentation of blocks of text, a mechanism is available to achieve the following: • Foreground and background colours can be selected by the user. • Width is no more than 80 characters or glyphs (40 if CJK). • Text is not justified (aligned to both the left and the right margins). • Line spacing (leading) is at least space-and-a-half within paragraphs, and paragraph spacing is at least 1.5 times larger than the line spacing. • Text can be resized without assistive technology up to 200 percent in a way that does not require the user to scroll horizontally to read a line of text on a full-screen window.

•    Images of Text (No Exception): 1.4.9 Images of text are only used for pure decoration or where a particular presentation of text is essential to the information being conveyed. Note: Logotypes (text that is part of a logo or brand name) are considered essential.

•    Keyboard (No Exception): 2.1.3 All functionality of the content is operable through a keyboard interface without requiring specific timings for individual keystrokes.

•    No Timing: 2.2.3 Timing is not an essential part of the event or activity presented by the content, except for non-interactive synchronized media and realtime events.

•    Interruptions: 2.2.4 Interruptions can be postponed or suppressed by the user, except interruptions involving an emergency.

•    Re-authenticating: 2.2.5 When an authenticated session expires, the user can continue the activity without loss of data after re-authenticating.

•    Timeouts: 2.2.6 Users are warned of the duration of any user inactivity that could cause data loss, unless the data is preserved for more than 20 hours when the user does not take any actions. Note: Privacy regulations may require explicit user consent before user identification has been authenticated and before user data is preserved. In cases where the user is a minor, explicit consent may not be solicited in most jurisdictions, countries or regions. Consultation with privacy professionals and legal counsel is advised when considering data preservation as an approach to satisfy this success criterion.

•    Three Flashes: 2.3.2 Web pages do not contain anything that flashes more than three times in any one second period.

•    Animation from Interactions: 2.3.3 Motion animation triggered by interaction can be disabled, unless the animation is essential to the functionality or the information being conveyed. (Level AAA)

•    Location: 2.4.8 Information about the user's location within a set of Web pages is available

•    Link Purpose (Link Only): 2.4.9 A mechanism is available to allow the purpose of each link to be identified from link text alone, except where the purpose of the link would be ambiguous to users in general.

•    Section Headings: 2.4.10 Section headings are used to organize the content. Note: "Heading" is used in its general sense and includes titles and other ways to add a heading to different types of content. Note: This success criterion covers sections within writing, not user interface components. User interface components are covered under Success Criterion 4.1.2.

•    Focus Not Obscured (Enhanced): (WCAG 2.2) 2.4.12 When a user interface component receives keyboard focus, no part of the component is hidden by author-created content

•    Focus Appearance: (WCAG 2.2) 2.4.13 When the keyboard focus indicator is visible, an area of the focus indicator meets all the following: • is at least as large as the area of a 2 CSS pixel thick perimeter of the unfocused component or sub-component, and • has a contrast ratio of at least 3:1 between the same pixels in the focused and unfocused states. Exceptions: • The focus indicator is determined by the user agent and cannot be adjusted by the author, or • The focus indicator and the indicator's background color are not modified by the author. Note What is perceived as the user interface component or sub-component (to determine the perimeter) depends on its visual presentation. The visual presentation includes the component's visible content, border, and component-specific background. It does not include shadow and glow effects outside the component's content, background, or border. Note Examples of sub-components that may receive a focus indicator are menu items in an opened drop-down menu, or focusable cells in a grid. Note Contrast calculations can be based on colors defined within the technology (such as HTML, CSS and SVG). Pixels modified by user agent resolution enhancements and anti-aliasing can be ignored.

•    Target Size (Enhanced) 2.5.5 The size of the target for pointer inputs is at least 44 by 44 CSS pixels except when: • Equivalent The target is available through an equivalent link or control on the same page that is at least 44 by 44 CSS pixels; • Inline The target is in a sentence or block of text; • User Agent Control The size of the target is determined by the user agent and is not modified by the author; • Essential A particular presentation of the target is essential to the information being conveyed.

•    Concurrent Input Mechanisms : 2.5.6 Web content does not restrict use of input modalities available on a platform except where the restriction is essential, required to ensure the security of the content, or required to respect user settings.

•    Unusual Words: 3.1.3 A mechanism is available for identifying specific definitions of words or phrases used in an unusual or restricted way, including idioms and jargon

•    Abbreviations: 3.1.4 A mechanism for identifying the expanded form or meaning of abbreviations is available.

•    Reading Level: 3.1.5 When text requires reading ability more advanced than the lower secondary education level after removal of proper names and titles, supplemental content, or a version that does not require reading ability more advanced than the lower secondary education level, is available.

•    Pronunciation: 3.1.6 A mechanism is available for identifying specific pronunciation of words where meaning of the words, in context, is ambiguous without knowing the pronunciation.

•    Change on Request: 3.2.5 Changes of context are initiated only by user request or a mechanism is available to turn off such changes.

•    Help: 3.3.5 Context-sensitive help is available. Provide instructions and cues in context to help inform completion and submission.

•    Error Prevention (All): 3.3.6 For Web pages that require the user to submit information, at least one of the following is true: • Reversible Submissions are reversible. • Checked Data entered by the user is checked for input errors and the user is provided an opportunity to correct them. • Confirmed A mechanism is available for reviewing, confirming, and correcting information before finalizing the submission.

•    Accessible Authentication (Enhanced): (WCAG 2.2) 3.3.9 A cognitive function test (such as remembering a password or solving a puzzle) is not required for any step in an authentication process unless that step provides at least one of the following: Alternative: Another authentication method that does not rely on a cognitive function test. Mechanism: A mechanism is available to assist the user in completing the cognitive function test.

What we’re doing to improve accessibility.

At JCIO and Judicial Digital Services, we are committed to the continuous improvement of accessibility across all our digital products and services. We undertake regular audits in collaboration with the Digital Accessibility Centre (DAC) to assess compliance with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 at levels A, AA, and AAA.

The findings from these audits are carefully reviewed and translated into actionable items, which are incorporated into our product roadmaps and logged as tickets within our development backlogs. These items are then prioritised based on a range of factors, including the severity of the issue, its impact on users, available resources, financial constraints, and the specific priority level assigned in the audit.

This structured and consistent approach ensures that accessibility is embedded into our development processes and that improvements are delivered in a planned and transparent manner across all JDS platforms.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 05/06/2025 It was last reviewed on: date to be confirmed.

This website was last tested on 28/03/2025 against the WCAG 2.2 AA standard.

The test was carried out by the Digital Accessibility Centre The most viewed pages were tested using automated testing tools by our website team. Any further audit of the website will be carried out to the WCAG 2.2 AA standard.

5 June 2025