What Happens When UK Public Sector Websites Fail Accessibility Audits

The Central Digital and Data Office (CDDO) monitors public sector websites for accessibility compliance. When they find problems—and they regularly do—organisations face a defined process with real deadlines and public accountability.

If you work on a public sector website in the UK, here's what you need to know about what happens after a failed audit and how to avoid getting there in the first place.

The Regulations in Brief

The Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) Accessibility Regulations 2018 require UK public sector organisations to meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA. This applies to central government, local councils, NHS trusts, universities, schools, and any organisation receiving public funding for digital services.

The regulations have been in force for years now. New websites needed to comply from September 2019. Existing websites had until September 2020. Mobile apps followed in June 2021.

Yet monitoring reports continue to find widespread non-compliance.

What Monitoring Looks Like

The CDDO runs two types of checks:

Simplified monitoring uses automated tools to scan a sample of pages. This catches obvious issues like missing alt text, poor colour contrast, and form labels that aren't properly associated with their inputs.

Detailed monitoring goes deeper. Auditors manually test sites using assistive technologies, checking keyboard navigation, screen reader compatibility, and whether interactive components work as expected.

Organisations don't get to choose when they're audited. The CDDO selects sites based on factors including user numbers, complaints, and random sampling.

After a Failed Audit

When an audit identifies problems, the CDDO sends a report listing specific failures against WCAG success criteria. Each issue references the exact criterion—1.1.1 for non-text content, 1.4.3 for colour contrast, 2.1.1 for keyboard accessibility, and so on.

Organisations then enter a remediation period. The CDDO expects:

1. Acknowledgment of the issues within a set timeframe
2. An action plan with specific fixes and deadlines
3. Evidence of progress through follow-up checks
4. Full compliance within the agreed period

The exact timeline depends on the severity and volume of issues, but organisations typically get 12 weeks to address problems.

The Consequences of Continued Non-Compliance

Organisations that don't fix issues face escalating consequences:

Public reporting: The CDDO publishes monitoring results. Your organisation's failures become public record, searchable by anyone including journalists, disability advocates, and the people you serve.

Enforcement action: The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) can take formal enforcement action against persistent offenders. This can include compliance notices and, ultimately, court proceedings.

Reputational damage: Public sector bodies exist to serve everyone. Excluding disabled users contradicts that mission visibly and publicly.

Ministerial attention: For central government departments, persistent accessibility failures can escalate to ministerial level. Nobody wants to explain to a minister why their website doesn't work for blind users.

Common Issues Found in Audits

The same problems appear repeatedly in monitoring reports:

Images without alt text (WCAG 1.1.1): Every meaningful image needs a text alternative. Decorative images need empty alt attributes.

Insufficient colour contrast (WCAG 1.4.3): Text needs a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 against its background. Large text (18pt or 14pt bold) needs 3:1.

Missing form labels (WCAG 1.3.1, 3.3.2): Every form input needs a properly associated label. Placeholder text doesn't count.

Keyboard traps (WCAG 2.1.2): Users must be able to navigate away from any component using only a keyboard.

Missing skip links (WCAG 2.4.1): Users need a way to bypass repeated navigation and get straight to main content.

PDF accessibility (multiple criteria): PDFs must be tagged, have a logical reading order, and include alt text for images.

How to Prepare

Don't wait for an audit to find your problems.

Run automated scans regularly. Automated tools catch about 30-40% of accessibility issues. They're not comprehensive, but they find the obvious problems quickly.

Test with a keyboard. Unplug your mouse and try to complete key tasks. Can you reach every interactive element? Can you see where focus is? Can you always escape from components?

Check your accessibility statement. The regulations require a statement listing known issues and your timeline for fixing them. An honest, current statement shows good faith.

Build accessibility into your process. Training developers and designers costs less than remediation. Catching issues in development costs less than fixing them in production.

Document your efforts. If you do face an audit, evidence of ongoing accessibility work demonstrates commitment even if problems remain.

The Bigger Picture

Compliance matters, but it's not the point. One in five people in the UK has a disability. Your website serves them too—or it should.

When a screen reader user can't complete a form, that's a real person who can't access a real service. When someone with motor impairments can't navigate your site with a keyboard, you've excluded them.

Meeting WCAG 2.1 AA isn't about avoiding enforcement. It's about doing the job properly.

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