Accessibility

This accessibility statement applies to www.mosl.co.uk.

How accessible the website is and what we are doing to improve

Ensuring all users can access our content is important to us. We're aware that our website is not as accessible as it could be and are taking steps to mitigate this. We undertook an audit by Shaw Trust in June 2023 against Website Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 A and AA criteria. As of July 2025, we are partially compliant against WCAG 2.2 A guidelines. A list of areas that are non-complaint are available within the 'Non-accessible content' section below. Full WCAG 2.1 Level A compliance cannot be acheived until we are compliant in all areas.

Since June 2023, we have made significant improvements to our website. Some of these are highlighted below:

Recite Me

To assist with the accessibility of mosl.co.uk, we have embedded an assistive toolbar from Recite Me on each webpage. This toolbar includes the following features:

Audio playback - Have website text read back to you
Text options - Increase or decrease the font size, and choose between 10 different fonts
Colours - Change the background, text and link colours
Ruler tool - Track a page using a full-width ruler
Screen mask - Create a letterbox view for focused viewing of a section of a page
Dictionary - Find definitions of words
Language - Translate the text into 100 different languages, including 35 text to speech languages
Magnifier - Magnify text on screen
Text mode - Remove imagery and view as plain text
Margins - Change text dimensions by narrowing or widening column widths
Download audio - Download text as an audio file.

Users can access the toolbar by selecting the 'Accessibility options' at the top of any page of the MOSL website. Users can save, adjust, or reset their settings at any time. There is a user guide for further assistance. The toolbar can also be used via keyboard shortcuts, the list of which is available in the user guide.

Dashboards and maps

As of January 2024, all maps available on the MOSL website have been updated with the following accessibility improvements:

Higher contrasting colours
Clear labelling using 'show on zoom' feature
Improved colour transparency control using zoom feature to prevent colours merging.

We are aware that there may be a lack of description button labelling on the zoom features on some of the maps and that the pop ups within the map segments are not accessible via a keyboard. Unfortunately, due to our maps being created and embedded via a third-party, we are unable to amend this. However, all maps do contain hover text, and users are able to zoom in by searching for a particular postcode, or zoom out by searching 'United Kingdom'.

As of February 2024, we have introduced the following improvements to our public dashboards:

Higher contrasting colours where possible
Added differentiated line markers to line graphs
Added unique and descriptive chart titles
Enabled screen reader capability to ensure dashboard visuals are readable.

We will be implementing more accessibility improvements to our public dashboards before reviewing the dashboards available to registered users and those within My Charts on My MOSL.

Accessible MOSL reports

We have integrated accessibility requirements into our designed documents, such as the MOSL Business Plan and Annual Report. These include:

Colour considerations (higher contrast colours, added textures)
Adding bookmarks
Alt-tag descriptions to images
Adding header titles/values to tables
Adding a reading order for Adobe Read Out Loud (as of August 2024 we are improving the reading order of these reports for other assistive technologies).

We are aware that detailed timelines and charts may not be accessible to all, therefore we aim to provide descriptions where possible as well as include key milestones/figures within the page copy, reducing the reliance on the chart itself.

Non-accessible content

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

We are aware that there are a number of elements of our website that are inaccessible. These include:

Navigation:
No skip link means it's harder for keyboard and screen reader users to bypass repeated content.
Headings:
Some missing or illogical structure – reduces clarity for assistive tech.
Calendar & Tables:
Not screen-reader friendly; empty cells cause confusion.
Forms:
Limited error feedback; missing legends and labels – harder for users with cognitive or visual impairments (some issues unfixable due to third-party).
Buttons & Links:
Some lack descriptive text or ARIA labels; ambiguous labels reduce usability.
Keyboard Access:
Certain elements (e.g., navigation chevrons, social links) not keyboard-accessible.
Focus Indicators:
Missing visual cues – harder for keyboard users.
Images:
Missing alt text in galleries – screen readers cannot convey content.
ARIA & Markup:
Missing ARIA labels; incorrect markup limits assistive tech; FAQ expand icons lack focus highlight.
Color & Visual Design:
Charts rely on color alone; poor contrast affects readability.
Third-Party Limitations:
Homepage slider buttons unreadable by screen readers.
MOSL website documentation:
Much of our downloadable content (e.g. PDFs, Microsoft Excel documents, Microsoft Word documents) is inaccessible. As of July 2023, we ensure that we produce more accessible versions of our larger published reports (e.g. business plans), and ensure our monthly Market Focus publication passes as many Adobe PDF accessibility checks as possible. From January 2025, we began using document templates with accessibility improvements embedded.
Videos:
- Not all of our videos include closed captioning and may be produced in a format that is inaccessible to those who are vision impaired. From June 2023, we committed to including accurate closed captioning to all public videos on the MOSL website from at least 2023.
- On pages where more than one video embed is present, we are unable to differentiate between button labels for screen readers due to third-party restrictions.

Following the completion of our work with Shaw Trust, you can download a list of non-compliant areas below, highlighted in their manual audit of the MOSL website. This list includes an explanation of each failing along with the WCAG criterion it covers (to the best of our knowledge).

Review known WCAG failings

Disproportionate burden

We are claiming long-term disproportionate burden for the following reasons:

From June 2024 we added transcription files to our animated videos and the majority of our produced videos from the beginning of 2023. Meeting and screen recording/demos do not currently have descriptive transcriptions attached due to the disproportionate burden to generate them. From June 2024, we have also incorporated transcription requests into our video briefs where it is feasible to do so. For other videos, we do advise if there are transcription elements not provided and the reasoning why.
MOSL website documentation: Whilst we have made significant progress in the use of more accessible templates to produce our documents, due to the volume of documents being uploaded and currently available on the website, we are unable to ensure that every document fully complies with WCAG 2.2 guidelines. If there is a document that is deemed inaccessible, please refer to the 'Reporting problems' section and we can assist.
Committing to further accessibility updates would require resources beyond our current capacity as there is currently one colleague primarily dedicated to accessibility at MOSL and they are on maternity leave.
MOSL is a not for profit, member funded organisation; addressing further accessibility enhancements would incur additional costs not covered by the budget.

Content outside of scope

Documents published before 23 September 2018

Includes PDFs, Word documents, Excel files, etc.
Only exempt if they are not essential for providing a service.
Accessible alternatives can be provided on request.

Video

Pre-recorded content published before 23 September 2020 is exempt.

Third-party content not under our control

Such as embedded widgets, social media feeds, or externally hosted documents.

Intranets and extranets published before 23 September 2019

These are exempt unless they undergo a substantial revision after that date.

Maps

Online maps are exempt, but any essential information can be provided in an accessible format.

Archived content

Content that is not needed for active services and is kept only for reference or record-keeping.

How we test this website

From June 2023 to July 2025, we have undertaken a number of automated and manual tests with Shaw Trust Accessibility Services. Manual, automated and assistive tech methods were used, as were testers with a range of disabilities and impairements.

When producing new webpages, each page is scanned using two Digital Accessibility scanners - Wave and Silktide. We also undertake regular audits of sample webpages and documents to test their accessibility, using accessibility scanners and Adobe Acrobat's accessibility testing function.

Reporting accessibility problems with this website

We’re always looking to improve the accessibility of this website and are committed to learning from its users. If you have any issues accessing or consuming our content, please contact comms@mosl.co.uk and we will get back to you as soon as possible with next steps to support you. Please also use this email for any general queries you have regarding this accessibility statement.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was published on 17 May 2023 and was last updated on 17 October 2025.