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40% of UK Devolved Government Websites Fail Accessibility Requirements: What Developers Can Learn

New data shows 40% of devolved government websites fail accessibility requirements. Here's what went wrong and how to avoid the same mistakes.

40% of UK Devolved Government Websites Fail Accessibility Requirements: What Developers Can Learn

New research published this week reveals that two in five devolved government websites across the UK are failing to meet accessibility requirements. Given that public sector bodies have been legally required to meet WCAG 2.1 AA standards since 2020, this is a significant failure rate—and one that offers lessons for anyone building websites in the UK.

The Numbers

The findings show that 40% of websites run by devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland aren't meeting the accessibility standards they're legally obligated to follow. This comes six years after the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) Accessibility Regulations 2018 came into full effect.

The Government Digital Service (GDS) has noted that GOV.UK itself is "regularly tested for accessibility" and that central government organisations are expected to use GOV.UK for publishing. But the devolved picture is clearly more fragmented.

Why This Matters Beyond Government

You might be thinking: "I don't build government websites, so why should I care?"

Three reasons:

1. If well-resourced public bodies struggle, so will you

Government bodies typically have dedicated digital teams, accessibility officers, and procurement processes that should catch these issues. If 40% of them are still failing, it demonstrates how easy it is to miss accessibility requirements without systematic checking.

2. The same regulations are expanding

The UK is watching the European Accessibility Act (EAA) come into force across the EU this year. While Brexit means the UK isn't directly bound by the EAA, many UK businesses selling into Europe will need to comply. The direction of travel is toward more accessibility regulation, not less.

3. Your clients are watching

Public sector procurement increasingly requires suppliers to demonstrate accessibility compliance. If you're building websites, apps, or digital products for councils, NHS trusts, or any public body, you need to prove your work meets WCAG 2.1 AA. A 40% failure rate among government sites suggests many suppliers aren't delivering what's required.

The Common Failures

While the PublicTechnology report doesn't break down specific WCAG failures, the most common issues on government websites typically include:

Missing or incorrect heading structure (WCAG 1.3.1) Pages that jump from H1 to H4, or use headings purely for visual styling rather than document structure. Screen reader users rely on headings to navigate—broken structure means broken navigation.

Insufficient colour contrast (WCAG 1.4.3) Text that doesn't meet the 4.5:1 contrast ratio for normal text or 3:1 for large text. Government brand guidelines sometimes specify colours that fail these ratios.

Missing form labels (WCAG 1.3.1, 3.3.2) Input fields without programmatically associated labels. Placeholder text doesn't count—it disappears when users start typing and isn't reliably announced by screen readers.

Non-descriptive link text (WCAG 2.4.4) Links that say "click here" or "read more" without context. Screen reader users often navigate by pulling up a list of links—"click here" repeated 15 times isn't helpful.

Inaccessible PDFs (WCAG 1.1.1, 1.3.1) PDFs without proper tagging, missing alt text for images, or scanned documents without OCR. Government sites are notorious for publishing inaccessible PDFs.

What You Should Actually Do

Test early, test often

Don't wait until launch to check accessibility. Build testing into your development workflow:

  • Run automated checks on every pull request
  • Include accessibility criteria in your definition of done
  • Test with keyboard navigation before considering any feature complete

Automated testing catches about 30% of issues

Tools can catch missing alt text, colour contrast failures, and missing form labels. They can't catch whether alt text is actually meaningful, whether focus order makes sense, or whether custom components are operable with a keyboard.

You need both automated scanning and manual testing.

Document your accessibility statement

Public sector sites are required to publish an accessibility statement listing known issues and when they'll be fixed. Even if you're not legally required to publish one, creating an internal accessibility statement forces you to acknowledge and track issues.

Train your content editors

Developers can build an accessible CMS, but if content editors upload images without alt text or paste in content that breaks heading structure, the live site fails. Build guardrails into your CMS and train the people using it.

The Bottom Line

A 40% failure rate among government websites—organisations with legal obligations and dedicated resources—shows that accessibility doesn't happen by accident. It requires systematic checking, clear standards, and accountability.

If you're building websites for UK clients, accessibility compliance should be part of your standard process, not an afterthought. The regulatory environment is tightening, and the reputational risk of inaccessible sites is growing.

WCAGCheck scans your website for WCAG compliance issues and tells you exactly what to fix. Try it free at wcagcheck.co.uk