Nearly 80 percent of UK central government websites
need to be redesigned before they can be fully accessible to users
with disabilities, judging from a leaked report from the e-Envoy's
office. According to eGov Monitor Weekly, around 800 public sector
Web sites may need rebuilding to comply with accessibility laws
requiring government services to cater for people with
disabilities.
The claim is based on details leaked from an internal report
carried out by the Office of the e-Envoy (OeE), the cabinet office
unit responsible among other things for improving the
accessibility and usability of UK government Web sites.
The OeE report draws upon the findings by the National Audit
Office investigation, which examined the accessibility of 65
central government Web sites and concluded that nearly all were
potentially excluding users.
EGov Monitor estimates that to fix the problems, government
departments may need to spend at least 10 percent to 15 per cent
of their total annual budget for Web sites. Editor Ian Cuddy told
ElectricNews.Net that it was difficult to put a precise figure on
the total cost of the redesigns required because the OeE has
refused to release further details of the audit, but it is
expected to run into millions.
The report has important repercussions for the government and
web design agencies. OeE has now warned the Web design industry
that future government contracts will demand that companies
deliver websites that conform to international Web accessibility
standards. Current responsibility for adopting these standards
rests with individual government webmasters, not designers, and
compliance is not centrally monitored.
The required changes on these government websites range from
simple front-end changes to more extensive re-working of their
architectures. The high cost involved in these more serious
redesigns highlights the fact that it is much cheaper to design in
accessibility from scratch rather than add it on at a later stage.
The Usability Company's one-day accessibility training course
can help government web managers and anyone responsible for
website development and success gain a clear understanding of the
digital accessible arena and they will receive clear advice on
implementing a simple, practical and effective approach to
accessibility on the Internet and Intranet within organisations
and projects. The Usability Company also performs Accessibility
Audits for websites and Intranet sites.
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