Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 5 March 2024. It was last reviewed on 5 March 2024.

Compliance status

This website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1opens in a new window AA standard, due to the non-accessible content listed on this page.

Non-accessible content

The content listed in this section is non-accessible for the following reasons:

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

Homepage

1. There are some decorative characters used for visual styling being added as text on the first panel on this page. We will change these to use CSS so they are not processed by assistive techs.
2. If a link is added to the email signup panel (there is none currently), that link would not have a hover style applied.

Browse support page

1. The 'skip to main content' link refreshes the page instead of moving the keyboard focus onto the main content area of the page.
2. The entire filters section is wrapped in a live region, which means items are being passed to assistive techs more than once. In future, only the count of results will be a live region.
3. In the filters section, the search field should be keyboard accessible. Currently you can't navigate the autocomplete results that appear with the up and down arrows.  
4. In the filters section, the checkboxes are all marked up as buttons instead of native checkboxes. This leads to multiple issues, such as the selected state not being fed back, and information not being fed back when cycled through multiple times.
5. The sort menu has duplicated markup, which is processed multiple times by assistive tech.
6. The sort menus code is visually different from the tab order.

Browse support service details page

1. The 'You might also be interested in' bookmark icon has no alt attribute.
2. The 'Give feedback' and 'Is there something wrong' links that appear near the bottom of the page have no hover style.

Browse support events page

1. In the filters section, the search field should be keyboard accessible. Currently you can't navigate the autocomplete results that appear with the up and down arrows.  
2. The date filter fields are not keyboard accessible.
3. When no results are found after the user applies filters or does a search, one of the telephone links that appears has no hover styling.

Privacy notice

1. A card style layout is used on this page, with a link on each card labelled 'find out more'. For users who might not be able to visually associate the card title with the button, no additional context is fed back here, leading to multiple links labelled 'find out more' being fed back.

Newsletter signup page

The following page is not under our control and is hosted by a third party service. We will ask the third party to address these issues.

1. No page headers used at all on the page.
2. The main site logo has alt text, but the alt text is not useful at all.
3. All navigable elements have no hover styling in place.
4. The entire form is written up using a table, which leads to some duplicate and strange data being processed.
5. Static inline font sizing is in place, which means users can't resize the font using their browser's settings or their own custom style sheet.
6. The links leading back to the main website need to announce that they'll open in a new window, as currently they don't.
7. The form validation errors are not keyboard accessible.

How we tested this website

We used the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines V2.1 level A and level AA to test how accessible our site is. We have an in-house accessibility lab and testing team, who test new features and changes to the site for accessibility issues.

Where possible, we try to test our websites with disabled users to identify and address any issues.

This website was last tested in March 2024 by our internal team.

What we're doing to improve accessibility

We're aiming to fix the accessibility issues highlighted on this page by the end of June 2024. As our newsletter signup page is hosted by a third party, those issues may take longer to fix.

We regularly test and review this website to check for new issues. We’re currently working towards the new Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.2opens in a new window, and aim to be compliant by June 2024. We’ll add any new issues we identify to this statement and aim to fix these as soon as possible.

Feedback and contact information

If you need information on this website in a different format, such as accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille, you can contact us using these contact details:

• enquiries@findbusinesssupport.gov.scot
• 0300 013 3385opens in a new window (calls charged at local rates)
• 0141 846 0200opens in a new window from mobile phones or if outside Scotland

Or, you can submit an enquiry using our enquiry form.

If you're deaf or hearing impaired, you can use your textphone to contact us through Relay UK, or you can search for Relay UK in the App Store for iPhone or iPad or in Google Play for Android.

Reporting a problem

You can use the same contact details to report an accessibility problem on this website.

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 SPSOopens 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 (EASS)opens in a new window.