Accessibility statement

What we are doing to make sure as many people as possible can use Hwb.

Using this website

This website is run by the Welsh Government. We want as many people as possible to be able to use this website. For example, that means you should be able to:

zoom in up to 300% without the text spilling off the screen
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
extend timeout sessions when logged in

We’ve also made the website text as simple as possible to understand.

AbilityNet has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability.

This website’s accessibility

We know some parts of this website aren’t fully accessible:

some images used within the site contain text
some content images such as charts, graphs, infographics and diagrams have inaccurate text alternatives or no text alternatives
some video content doesn’t have a text or audio-described alternative
some videos with an audio track don’t have an audio description and the option to view captions
some content is displayed that requires a specific sensory ability to understand or interact with the content
some pages of the site feature heading content which does not appear in a logical order

What to do if you can’t access parts of this website

Email hwb@gov.wales if you need information on this website in a different format like accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille. Please tell us the format you need. If you use assistive technology please tell us what this is.

Reporting accessibility issues with this website

We’re always looking to improve the accessibility of this website. If you find any problems that aren’t listed on this page or think we’re not meeting the requirements of the accessibility regulations, contact: hwb@gov.wales. You can also contact us by telephone or post.

Enforcement procedure

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is responsible for enforcing the accessibility regulations. If you’re not happy with how we respond to your complaint, please contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS).

Technical information about this website’s accessibility

The Welsh Government is committed to making its website accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018. This website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines versions 2.1 and 2.2 AA standard, due to the non-compliances listed below.

Non-accessible content

The content that is not accessible is outlined below with details of where it fails the success criteria and planned dates for when issues will be fixed:

Search: Content becomes lost or obscured at low resolution or scrolling in 2 dimensions is required. The aim is for this to be resolved by Autumn 2026.
Header: Some of the text on the page is not in the primary language, but this has not been marked up in the code. The aim is for this to be resolved by Autumn 2026.
Platform wide: There are some content changes on input without informing the user. The aim is for this to be resolved by Autumn 2026.
Platform wide: The success of an action is indicated only visually and is not exposed to screen reader users. The aim is for this to be resolved by Autumn 2026.
Networks: There are some backbone application issues. The aim is for these to be resolved by Autumn 2026.
Playlists: The landmark is currently empty. The aim is for this to be resolved by Autumn 2026.
Events: Placeholder text cannot be used to label forms. The aim is for this to be resolved by Autumn 2026.
Platform wide: The reading order on the platform is incorrect or illogical. The aim is for this to be resolved by Autumn 2026.
Assignment: Button text could be improved. The aim is for this to be resolved by Autumn 2026.
Platform wide: The focus doesn't move to field or error on submit. The aim is for this to be resolved by Autumn 2026.
Events: The focus order is incorrect or illogical in Events. The aim is for this to be resolved by Autumn 2026.
Platform wide: List markup is being used on non-list items. The aim is for this to be resolved by Autumn 2026.
Admin: There are some backbone application issues in the Admin area. The aim is for this to be resolved by Autumn 2026.

The timescales to fix the non-accessible content listed above are an estimate under our current supplier for the Hwb platform. A new supplier was awarded the Hwb platform contract in January 2026, who will be redesigning the Hwb platform. As part of the contract requirements, the supplier will design and deliver a user-centred web platform that meets the latest Web Content Accessibility Guidelines standard (currently WCAG 2.2 AA). Accessibility and inclusive design will be embedded throughout the development process to ensure the platform is usable by all users.

Accessibility of Resources

Resources and information content on this platform are created by a wide range of contributors. We recommend that all contributors carry out accessibility testing on their content before it is uploaded to Hwb. If you identify any content that does not meet accessibility requirements please tell us and we will inform the content creator.

By promoting the need for content to meet accessibility standards we aim for all new content to meet accessibility requirements.

PDFs and other documents

New documents we publish to access our services should be fully accessible.

However, we know that some of our older documents (published before 23 September 2018) are not accessible. For example, some of them:

are not marked up in a way that allows screen reader users to understand them
are not tagged up properly, for example they do not contain proper headings
are not written in plain English

Some of these are historic documents and are not essential to providing our services. These types of documents are exempt from the regulations. We do not currently have any plans to make them accessible.

If you need to access information in one of these document types, please contact us and ask for an alternative format.

How we tested this website

This website was last tested in January 2025. The test was carried out by DigInclusion. We test additional developments outside of the site wide review as and when new features are released to users.
We tested a combination of content templates, and the following applications:

Events.
Networks.
News.
Playlists.
Profile.
Resources.
Search.
Assignments.

We tested:

our main website platform, available at hwb.gov.wales

What we are doing to improve accessibility

We are actively working to enhance the accessibility of the Hwb Service, implementing measures to ensure that all users, regardless of their abilities, can fully engage and navigate the platform with ease.

This statement was prepared 16 September 2021.

It was last updated on 10 February 2026.