Accessibility statement for Business.gov.uk

The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) 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 www.business.gov.uk.

DBT regularly tests its online services to ensure they meet accessibility requirements. Our internal development teams test constantly, and we have had the whole website tested by external audit agencies.

We want our whole website to comply with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 AA as a minimum.

We want all businesses and individuals to be able to use this website. This means you should be able to:

• change colours, contrast levels and fonts
• zoom up to 500%
• 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)

The site will:

• respond to different screen sizes or zoom levels
• use words that are clear and simple to understand throughout the website
• ensure all images have accessible descriptions where necessary

AbilityNet has tips on how to make your device easier to use if you have a disability.

How accessible this website is

We are constantly improving the content and performance of our website to make sure it can best support UK and international businesses.

Recent testing showed that small parts of the website are not fully accessible. For example, the ‘Events’ section of our site has several inaccessible elements which may be difficult for people using a screen reader.

We are actively working to fix these issues during regular service updates.

Feedback and contact information

What to do if you cannot access parts of this website

If you need information on this website in a different format, email digital.accessibility@businessandtrade.gov.uk. If you have a problem accessing any of the events on Business.gov.uk you can contact us at eventsupport@businessandtrade.gov.uk. We’ll get back to you within 5 working days.

Reporting accessibility problems with this website

We’re always looking to improve the accessibility of this website. If you find any problems that are not listed on this page or think we’re not meeting the requirements of the accessibility regulations, please tell us via our help form.

Enforcement procedure

In England, Wales and Scotland, 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).

In Northern Ireland, the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland 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 Commission for Northern Ireland.

Technical information about this website’s accessibility

DBT 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

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

Non-accessible content

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

Non-compliance with accessibility regulations

AI assistant trial

• The AI assistant's responses have visually formatted headings that lack heading tags. Screen reader users cannot identify headed sections in the same way as sighted users. This fails WCAG 2.2 (1.3.1 Info and Relationships (Level A)).
• The ‘Was this answer useful?’ yes/no buttons are not accurately labelled. This means assistive technology users may be unable to identify or interact with the buttons correctly. This fails WCAG 2.2 (1.3.1 Info and Relationships (Level A)).
• Some parts of the tool may not be accurately announced by screen readers. This may affect how screen readers read the page or prevent them reading these elements. This fails WCAG 2.2 (4.1.2 Name, Role, Value (Level A)).
• The ‘Type your message’ input field label disappears when typing begins. This can make it difficult for users with cognitive impairments or those using voice control to identify and interact with the field. This fails WCAG 2.2 (3.3.2 Labels or Instructions (Level A)).
• The numbered footnote links in the in the chat window are non-descriptive for sighted users, as the purpose of the link and its destination are unclear. This fails WCAG 2.2 (2.4.4 Link Purpose (In Context) (Level A)).
• Links and buttons in the chatbot replies are not accessible by keyboard and require a mouse to activate. This may prevent keyboard-only users from accessing or focusing on interactive elements. This fails WCAG 2.2 (2.4.3 Focus Order (Level A)).
• Chat responses appear above the input field, but focus stays on the input. This means keyboard-only and screen reader users may not notice new messages and must navigate backwards to find them. For screen reader uses, there is also no audible alert that a response has appeared. This fails WCAG 2.2 (2.4.3 Focus Order (Level A))
• Screen reader users may encounter the "Keyboard Controls" dialog even when it’s not visibly displayed. Users may become disorientated if they land directly in the hidden dialog. It appears and disappears when tabbing away, which may be difficult for users with cognitive impairments to remember and relocate commands. It also appears unnecessarily for screen reader users on mobile devices. This fails WCAG 2.2 (2.4.3 Focus Order (Level A)).
• The 'Close' button in the form fields dialog is not descriptive for screen reader users, and maybe unclear what will be closed when activated. This fails WCAG 2.2 (2.4.6 Headings and Labels (Level AA)).
• The 'End of chat history' message receives keyboard focus but has no visible focus indicator. This can make it difficult for keyboard-only users to know where focus is placed when navigating the chat window using the tab key. This fails WCAG 2.2 (2.4.7 Focus Visible (Level AA)).

The AI assistant trial uses a prototype being developed with a third party, and we will start work to fix these issues if this feature is retained and made available to all users.

Video content

• Some of our videos do not meet accessibility standards because they do not have captions and audio descriptions. Users of assistive technologies may not have access to information conveyed in videos. This fails WCAG 2.2 (1.2.2 Captions (Pre-recorded) (Level A), 1.2.3 Audio Description or Media Alternative (Pre-recorded) (Level A) and 1.2.5 Audio Description (Pre-recorded) (Level AA))

We are actively working on adding captions and audio descriptions to existing and future content to meet accessibility standards.

Export from the UK

The following issues have been identified which affect Sign in to export services, Where to export, Export plan, Report a trade barrier and Market guides.

• Some links and buttons use out of date styling, including focus states that fail colour contrast requirements for users, particularly people with low vision. This fails WCAG 2.2 (1.4.11 (Non-text Contrast) and 1.4.3 Contrast (Minimum))
• There are some instances of missing ARIA, hidden labels or insufficiently defined values which may prevent screen reader and voice activation users from interacting with some elements correctly. This fails WCAG 2.2 (2.4.4 Link Purpose (In Context) (Level A), (1.3.1 Info and Relationships (Level A), 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value (Level A), (2.4.6 Headings and Labels (Level AA), 2.4.3 Focus Order (Level A), 3.3.2 Labels or Instructions (Level A))
• There are some instances where focus location is not taking users to their expected destination. This may cause difficulty in navigating pages using assistive technology. This fails WCAG 2.2 (2.4.3 Focus Order (Level A), (3.2.2 On Input (Level A), 2.4.7 Focus Visible (Level AA))
• There are some instances where headings have been incorrectly indicated. This may mean users cannot efficiently move through the page using a screen reader or keyboard. This fails WCAG 2.2 (1.3.1 Info and Relationships (Level A))
• There are some instances of incorrectly formatted lists and groups which may be difficult for users of assistive technology to understand and interact with. This fails WCAG 2.2 (1.3.1 Info and Relationships (Level A), 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value (Level A), 4.1.3 Status Messages (Level AA))
• Some pages dynamically update and the changes are not announced to screen readers. This information may be missed by screen reader users. This fails WCAG 2.2 (1.3.1 Info and Relationships (Level A), 2.5.3 Label in Name (Level A), 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value (Level A), 4.1.3 Status Messages (Level AA))
• Some page structures and text formatting do not work when using in-browser site magnification tools. This fails WCAG 2.2 (1.4.10 Reflow (Level AA), Focus Not Obscured (Minimum) (Level AA)

We are actively working to fix these issues.

Business Academy

We are working with our Business Academy team to ensure that all accessibility guidelines are followed wherever Microsoft Teams is used to facilitate a webinar event.

Microsoft has produced a detailed guide on how to get the best experience of using Microsoft Teams accessibility features.

We also maintain an active backlog of any issues that are reported to us and strive to continuously make accessibility improvements to the website.

• On registration the notification banner currently does not display correctly when viewed at 400% magnification. This fails WCAG 2.2 (1.4.10 Reflow (Level AA)).
• Some error message descriptions are incorrect. This may make it difficult for users to resolve their issues. This fails WCAG 2.2 (3.3.3 Error Suggestion (Level AA))

We plan to rebuild this functionality in 2026.

Events

Our events service is built and hosted through a third-party provider.

There are a number of issues with the events service including the following:

• No indication for blind users, or users that rely on audio feedback, that results are populating on the page when typing into the ‘Keyword’ form element WCAG 2.2 (3.2.2 On Input)
• The structure of the headings on the page is illogical WCAG 2.2 (2.4.2 Page Titled)
• The menu button on mobile is unlabelled so it is unclear what the button relates to WCAG 2.2 (2.4.6 Headings and Labels)
• No ‘skip to content’ link present on some of the pages WCAG 2.2 (2.4.1 Bypass Blocks)
• The language attribute used has an invalid value - ‘eng’ is not a recognised language, and may cause assistive technology to render the content incorrectly WCAG 2.2 (3.1.1 Language of page)
• A technical issue with some lists may cause content to not render correctly on versions of screen reader software WCAG 2.2 (2.4.3 Focus Order)
• Some of our events pages contain non-descriptive ambiguous links such as ‘find out more’ WCAG 2.2 (2.4.4 Link Purpose (In Context))
• Images lacking alt text WCAG 2.2 (1.1.1 Non Text Content)
• The tab index on some of our events pages is used incorrectly causing some screen reader users to briefly lose focus when tabbing through interactive elements WCAG 2.2 (2.4.3 Focus Order)

We are working with our supplier to create new accessible templates for our events service.

If you have a problem with accessing any of the events on Business.gov.uk you can contact us at eventsupport@businessandtrade.gov.uk.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 27 May 2021. It was last reviewed on 1 April 2026.

Business.gov.uk was previously called great.gov.uk. An external audit of business.gov.uk was completed by the Digital Accessibility Centre (DAC) on 22 October 2024. A further audit of business.gov.uk was completed by DAC on 19 December 2024.

An external audit of ‘Starting a business’ and ‘Running and growing a business’ pages was completed by DAC in April 2025.

An audit of the trial AI assistant and AI-generated funding summaries on Business.gov.uk was completed by DAC on 19 June 2025. We will start work to fix issues raised in the audit that affect features that are retained beyond a trial. This will ensure Business.gov.uk website complies with WCAG 2.2 AA.

This statement will be updated as the reported issues are resolved.