Accessibility statement for South of Scotland Enterprise website

South of Scotland Enterprise (SOSE) is committed to making its website accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No.2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.  
 
This accessibility statement applies to South of Scotland Enterprise website available at www.southofscotlandenterprise.com. 

This website is run by I-Finity Associates Ltd.  We continue to work with I-Finity to make our site as accessible as possible and continually review its accessibility. Below is our improvement plan. 

We want as many people as possible to be able to use this website. For example, that means you should be able to:  
•    Change colours, contrast levels and fonts  
•    Zoom in up to 300% without the text spilling off the screen  
•    Navigate the website from any device including standard mobile/tablet sizes. 
•    Navigate most of the website using just a keyboard  
•    Navigate most of the website using speech recognition software  
•    Listen to most of the website using a screen reader (including the most recent versions of JAWS, NVDA and VoiceOver)  
•    We’ve also made the website text as simple as possible to understand.  

AbilityNet (link opens in a new window) has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability. 

Compliance status   

This website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 [ https://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG21/ (link opens in a new window) and 2.2 https://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG22/ (link opens in a new window) ] AA standard.  Details of non-accessible content are listed in detail below.  

Non-accessible content 

WCAG 1.4.3 Contrast (Minimum): We acknowledge that some historic PDFs on our website may not be fully accessible due to the nature of PDFs intended for print. However we make it clear that you can request documents in alternative formats. We are currently working on ensuring all PDFs are accessible or there is a webpage version available.  

Partially Resolved issues  

Contact us 

•    WCAG 2.4.7 Focus Visible: (Partially resolved) The focus moves through the forms beneath the 'Get in touch with SOSE' heading even if the forms are not opened. This is resolved with the fields on the contact form however it still focuses on the Privacy / Terms links on the reCAPTCHA, this is not within our control, as the reCAPTCHA is loaded onto the page by Google. Screen Readers do not pick this up so this only happens when a user tabs through the page. 
 

Preparation of this accessibility statement 

  • This statement was prepared on 1st April 2020 and was last reviewed on 30 September 2024. 

  • This website was tested against the WCAG 2.1 AA Standard and WCAG 2.2 AA Standard in July 2024 by our website partners. This website was further reviewed by the Government Digital Service in late 2023. 

  • The statement was reviewed by SOSE Communications and Marketing team and our website partners I-Finity Associates Ltd after this and updated in September 2024. 

What we're doing to improve accessibility  

This website was tested during the restructure of the site from June to October 2022. The test was carried out by I-Finity Associates Ltd who are our website partner.  I-Finity tested the site using various assistive technologies, such as:  

  • NVDA  

  • Microsoft Windows Speech Recognition 

  • VoiceOver  

  • Dragon Naturally Speaking  

  • ZoomText  

  • Wave  

  • Developer tools code audit   (Lighthouse) 

We undertook a range of User Accessibility Testing prior to the restructured site going live on 17 October 2022.   

Accessibility updates were last deployed on July 2024 following further testing by I-Finity.  

Changes made in our latest phase (July 2024) of accessibility updates included: 

  • When tabbing through and use of screen readers, contact us today fields will not be focused until they are visible 

  • When at 200/400% zoom and opening the hamburger menu, the user can tab in the correct order 

  • On contact form autocomplete attributes are now properly set i.e. email is email, first name is given-name etc. 

  • Homepage: MacOS and Firefox specific issue: At 200% zoom on the homepage, the 'Select an option' below the carousel is now available 

  • Contact us: In mobile view (320x256), the reCAPTCHA widgets below 3 of the forms are no longer cut off 

  • Contact us: ARIA elements that are hidden are not focusable until the form is rendered 

  • News: On search page if the filters are hidden, it will not tab into the options 

  • News: ARIA elements that are hidden are not focusable until the form is rendered  

  • Events & Training: Text images – we have added the Title attribute into the markup which helps Screen Readers give context, the Title, Date, Event Type and Description of the Event / Training all give context on what the image displays as well.  

  • Pages that have filters Search/News/Events & Training all filters aren't tab-able until they are shown 

  • ARIA elements that are hidden are not focusable until the form is rendered. 

2.2 Changes:-  Increased menu items/chevrons and footer links to make to 24 pixels 

Changes made in our January 2024 phase of accessibility updates included: 

  • Keyboard Accessible Navigation - to make Newsletter tabbed via keyboard 

  • Banner Carousel - play/pause button on bottom right added to live website 

  • Navigation drop-down - ability to click down and up to expand and close drop down menu options  

  • Zoom levels on hamburger menu - opens at 200/400%  

  • Enquiry form input boxes updated  

  • Contact us page - focus issue resolved and accessible via keyboard. 

Feedback and contact information  

If you have any difficulty using this website, or require this information in an alternative format like accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille, please let us know. You can contact us using our online feedback form (link opens in a new window).  

Or, if you prefer, you can contact us on:  

If you're deaf or hearing impaired you can use your textphone to contact us through Relay UK, or search for Relay UK on the App Store for iPhone or iPad and at Google Play for Android - alternatively, you can use Minicom 0800 023 2071 or BT helpline 0800 731 1888  We’ll consider your request and get back to you in 5 days.  

If you've contacted us regarding accessibility and are still dissatisfied with our decision or the way we dealt with your complaint, you can ask the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO) to look at it.  

The SPSO cannot normally look at:  

  • A complaint that has not completed our complaints procedure (so please make sure it has done so, before contacting the SPSO)  

  • Events that happened, or that you became aware of, more than a year ago  

  • A matter that has been or is being considered in court  

Contact the SPSO (link opens in a new window)    

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, contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (link opens in a new window).