Cabinet Office Announces Digital Accessibility Review

As reported by Sam Trendall in the Civil Service Review, the Cabinet Office has announced a deal with social enterprise Digital Accessibility Centre to review the accessibility of its digital services.

Accessibility regulations came into force for public sector bodies in September 2018. Our first report, 'Breaking Down Barriers', released in March 2022, found that the digital accessibility of local authorities and other public bodies still played a major factor in the under-representation of disabled people at all levels.

We called for this to change, alongside The Rt. Hon Sir Robert Buckland MP, who raised the issue in Parliament. Robert Buckland commented:

“Pleased to see the Cabinet office launch this review, alongside the South Wales-based Digital Accessibility Centre. This is something that is crucial for the inclusivity of Government services for disabled people. I was pleased to have worked with The Disability Policy Centre to highlight this issue, and I look forward to supporting the Government to ensure that our society is truly accessible for all."

We are delighted to see this taken on board, and for our policy recommendations to be taken on across Government - ensuring that accessibility really is at the heart of legislation.