This document details how we will fix the known accessibility issues with our website at www.copfs.gov.uk.
Accessibility issue: Word document forms
Some of our forms are Microsoft Office Word documents, created after September 2018, and have not been created with accessibility in mind. Therefore, they do not meet all necessary WCAG 2.1AA success criteria.
These forms also need to be downloaded by the user and emailed back.
How we will fix this
Forms which are made in Microsoft Word were made accessible by April 2025. An online form solution (M365) was introduced in February 2025. Conversion of current forms is on-going. From February 2025, new forms will be created in M365.
Subject access request form now online - February 2025
VRR application form now online - April 2025
Data sharing request form now online - May 2025
VIA letter feedback form now online - October 2025
Subject access request form (u18) now online - December 2025
Accessibility issue: non-accessible PDFs
Some of our publications are PDF documents, created after September 2018, and have not been created with accessibility in mind. Therefore, they do not meet all necessary WCAG 2.1AA success criteria.
How we will fix this
Convert as many of our PDFs as possible to accessible HTML publications.
If a PDF publication is not able to be converted to HTML, ensure the PDF is accessible.
Roadmap of planned fixes
| Issue | Resolution | Target date |
|---|---|---|
|
Accessibility audit is inaccurate |
Re-audit of website by Storm |
Fixed |
|
Some PDF documents post Sept 2018 are inaccessible |
Convert to HTML documents where possible |
March 2026 |
|
Some PDF documents post Sept 2018 are inaccessible |
Convert to accessible PDFs where HTML documents are not possible |
June 2026 |
|
Word document forms are not accessible |
Convert Word document forms to accessible Word documents |
April 2026 |
|
Word document forms are not accessible |
Implement accessible online form solution |
Completed |
|
Diversity email address incorrect |
Correct the email address |
Fixed |
|
COPFS logo in header |
Add <title> and aria-labelled by attributes to the logo SVG |
Fixed |
|
Focus order |
Storm to implement various fixes for focus order issues |
Fixed |
|
Focus visible |
Fix issues so user receives different actions. |
Fixed |
|
Phone number does not contain visible text to assistive technologies |
Update <a> tag with visible text |
Fixed |
|
Link purpose text |
Improve text used for link labels to make it clearer for screen readers what the purpose of the link is. |
Fixed |
|
Parsing |
Common Head and Footer elements need review. Trailing slashes on self-closing tags should be removed where required / possible. Ensure all links have a valid target. |
Fixed |
|
Contrast |
Fix CSS bug |
Fixed |
|
Headings and labels |
Make heading labels unique on each page |
Fixed |
|
Name, role, value |
Various fixes |
Fixed |
|
Helptext fields |
Improve recommended helptext |
Fixed |
|
Date picker inaccessible |
Alternative date picker to be implemented |
Fixed |
|
Link titles |
Remove text in ‘link title’ field as this confuses screen readers and can only be used with a mouse. |
Fixed |