Accessibility statement

Overview

This accessibility statement applies to startuploans.co.uk.

British Business Bank is committed to providing a website that is accessible to the widest possible audience, regardless of technology or ability. We are working to increase the accessibility and usability of our website and in doing so follow many of the available standards and guidelines.

We also routinely check web pages, when updates are made to existing pages and when new pages are published – to ensure that they meet accessibility requirements.

Whilst we work to the accepted guidelines and standards for accessibility and usability, there are always enhancements that we can make and we are constantly looking at how we can provide an accessible experience for everyone. We are always happy to listen to suggestions and open to improvements. Please use [email protected] to talk about accessibility with one of our team.

Technical information about this website’s accessibility

British Business Bank is committed to making its websites accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.

This website is being measured against the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.2 AA standard.

In April 2024, the website startuploans.co.uk was migrated from a WordPress content management system to a new content management system powered by Acquia. As part of the migration process the website was reviewed independently by the RNIB to test for accessibility defects. The result of that review highlighted a number of High, Medium and Low defects which have now been added to the development pipeline for remedial action.

All remedial action is currently being undertaken, with the highest priority issues resolved first.

Desktop issues - high

• Low/missing focus highlighting (Our FAQ component specifically) (fixed, awaiting retesting) 
• Role and state of show/hide component not conveyed to assistive technology correctly (fixed, awaiting retesting)

Desktop issues - Medium

• Decorative images with non-descriptive alt text (fixed, awaiting retesting)

Desktop issues - Low

• Empty headings (fixed, awaiting retesting)

Desktop issues - Advisory

• Use of placeholder text (fixed, awaiting retesting)
• Links to non-HTML files do not open in a new window (fixed, awaiting retesting)
• Drop down menus expanded by spacebar only

Mobile issues only - high

• State of navigation menu not conveyed to assistive technology
• Role and state of accordion component not conveyed to assistive technology correctly

Disproportionate burden

Pardot - embedded forms

The website is currently using Pardot to capture information from customers via its newsletter sign-up form, which isn't fully accessible. Our aim is to replace this technology with an accessible equivalent.

What we’re doing to improve accessibility

We are working continuously to ensure that the number of non-compliant issues remains minimal on our sites and we are committed to fixing any new issues as they arise.

This includes weekly or more frequent reviews to identify accessibility issues, correct source code errors and manually edit website elements to adhere to WCAG2 standards.

We are also committed to continuously educating all staff to be aware of website accessibility guidelines to ensure maximum compliance when new content is added to our websites.

Content that’s not within the scope of the accessibility regulations

Issues with PDFs and other documents

Many of our older PDFs and Word documents don’t meet accessibility standards – for example, they may not be marked up so that they’re accessible to a screen reader. The accessibility regulations don’t require us to fix PDFs or other documents published before 23 September 2018 if they’re not essential to providing our services. However, should you require an accessible version of any of our content, please contact us at [email protected].

How to request content in an accessible format

If you need information in a different format contact us and tell us:

• the web address (URL) of the content
• your name and email address and the format you need

Reporting accessibility problems with this website

If you find any problems that are not listed on this page or you think we’re not meeting the accessibility requirements, you may contact us on [email protected]

Enforcement procedure

The Equality and Human Rights Commission 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).

How we tested this website

This website was and is currently being tested for compliance with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines V2.1 level A and level AA, and these tests are being carried out weekly using a Digital Quality Management platform. We also run on request audits with our third party accessibilty partner, RNIB.

This statement was prepared on 19th August 2020. It was last updated on 4th November 2024.