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Accessibility statement

Accessibility statement

This accessibility statement applies to:

This website is run by Arts Council. 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 using browser or device settings
  • zoom in up to 300% without the text spilling off the screen
  • navigate most of the website using a keyboard or 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 has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability.

How accessible this website is

We know some parts of this website are not fully accessible, please look below under “Compliance status” for details.

Feedback and contact information

If you find any problems not listed on this page or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, contact: enquiries@artscouncil.org.uk.

If you need information on this website in a different format like accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille:

If you cannot view the map on our ‘contact us’ page, contact us or email us with the details above for directions.

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 (EASS).

Technical information about this website’s accessibility

Arts Council is committed to making its website accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.

Compliance status

The website has been tested against the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 AA standard.

This website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.2 AA standard, due to the non-compliances listed below.

Non-accessible content

The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons.

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

  • Some Background elements receive keyboard focus. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.4.3: Focus Order.
  • Some Visual lists are not marked up as lists. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.3.1: Info and Relationships.
  • Some link names may not be accessible by a screen reader and be descriptive enough to tell a user where that link will take them. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.4.4 Link Purpose (In Context)
  • Some ID attributes or labels use the same value, assistive technologies may skip over the second instance or be unable to recognise a difference between the two elements causing misinterpretations of content or functionality for users. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value - ARIA attributes must conform to valid names
  • Some Headings are skipped or displayed out of order. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (Level A), 2.4.1 Bypass Blocks (Level A) and 2.4.6 Headings and Labels (Level AA). 

What we’re doing to improve accessibility

We recognise that websites change over time; they evolve as content is added, behaviour changes, and features are added and removed. We know that it is important to ensure accessibility is considered throughout this process.  We will do everything we can to make our website more usable and accessible for everyone and will carry out regular reviews working with disabled and access user groups. 

We would love to have your feedback so that we can continue to improve our website, and help with any difficulties you may encounter.  If you have any feedback or are finding difficulties using our website please contact us.

Working with disabled user groups to improve the accessibility of our website

We work with our partners AbilityNet, a UK charity specialising in digital accessibility and helping people with disabilities, to engage with the disabled community to further improve our website.  So far we have completed testing of our new website to help us follow the W3C WCAG guidelines.  In the near future we will begin actively testing our website by working with disabled user groups to get direct feedback on any usability and accessibility issues affecting our website, and find out users make use of our website. Both of these approaches will mean we really make the site as usable and accessible as possible later this year and improve the overall experience for all of our users.

2025 accessibility audit

In 2025 the accessibility of Arts Council England’s website was independently evaluated, in line with WCAG 2.2 standards. We are currently working through required upgrades to achieve this status.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 17 December 2015. It was last reviewed on 19 July 2021.

This website was last tested on 19 March 2021. The test was carried out by AbilityNet.