Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS) 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.scotcourts.gov.uk
Compliance status
This website is not compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 AA standard or Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.2 AA standard.
To ensure compliance, we are currently undergoing a website redevelopment and expect to launch the new SCTS website in April 2024.
We are aware our website is outdated and many parts are not fully accessible, some examples of non-compliances are listed below:
- you cannot modify the line height or spacing of text
- most older PDF documents are not fully accessible to screen reader software
- live video streams do not have captions
- you cannot skip to the main content when using a screen reader
- there’s a limit to how far you can magnify the map on our ‘contact us’ page
To ensure this website meets full accessibility requirements, we are currently undergoing a redevelopment project and expect to launch the new SCTS website in April 2024. The new website is designed and built to meet all requirements of WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility standards.
Non-accessible content
- PDFs and other document formats on this website such as PDF, MS Word and Excel may not be fully accessible.
- Navigation and menu elements not clear for keyboard users.
- some colour combinations are low contrast resulting in difficulty for some users.
An accessibility audit for Scottish Courts and Tribunals (SCTS) website was carried out by the Digital Accessibility Centre (DAC) user/ technical team in March 2021.
The service was assessed against the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines WCAG 2.1.
The following is an Extract summary of the findings regarding any accessibility barriers identified during the testing process;
Numerous access issues were reported by users who require audio feedback to navigate and interact with page content. For example, some page elements either did not contain discernible text or were not descriptive enough for users to determine their function or purpose. As a result of this some users were unable to confidently interact with those page elements independently.
Screen reader users also found the general navigation of pages difficult due to content not being contained within landmarks, broken skip to main content links and illogical heading structures. These meant that users were often unable to quickly navigate to the main content of the page or accurately determine the structure of content therein.
Many users found the mega menu elements difficult to understand and navigate. For example, screen reader users struggled identify the structure and relationship of elements due to multiple level-one headings and multiple nested lists related to each section.
Keyboard only and voice activation users were unable to expand the menu elements using standard keyboard commands or voice activation software as they are only presented with mouse hover. If the links within the mega menu were present on the top-level pages this would be acceptable; however, the top-level links are not clickable so users are unable to navigate to those elements easily.
The focus order of the main navigation elements was also very disorientating for keyboard users because the contents of the mega menu receive focus prior to the menu being presented to users. This was disorientating for users who were unable to track their focus on the page. As a result of this some users were unable to complete tasks independently.
Some of the colour combinations found on the site are low contrast and are likely to be difficult for people with low vision to read. Because people perceive colour and contrast to different degrees, developers must take care to ensure that colour contrast meets the minimum contrast requirements.
When browsing in internet explorer 11, the mega menu navigation headings (e.g., ‘Courts & Tribunals’) are partially or entirely presented below the intended background. This meant that some users struggled to read or distinguish the text content due to the low colour contrast.
A high number of accessibility and usability issues were reported and found to affect the majority of user groups but particularly vision and mobility impaired user groups.
What we’re doing to improve accessibility
With the launch of our new website a full accessibility statement will be produced in April 2024.
What to do if you can’t access parts of this website
If you need information on this website or any of its subdomains in a different format like accessible large print, easy read, audio recording, or braille:
Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service
Saughton House
Broomhouse Drive
Edinburgh
EH11 3XD
We’ll consider your request and try to get back to you promptly. If your request is complex, our team will get back to you indicating an estimated time for a full reply.
When contacting us please make sure you provide the service area, document name and/or the web address (URL) of the page the content is on. A description of the format you need, for example, audio, braille, BSL or large print.
Find out more in our Support/Reasonable Adjustments section
Feedback on accessibility
If you find any problems not listed on this page or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, contact: communications@scotcourts.gov.uk
We’ll consider your request and get back to you in 7 days.
Enforcement procedure
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 are unhappy with how we respond to your feedback, please contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS).
Preparation of this accessibility statement
This statement was prepared in November 2023. It was last updated on 08/12/2023.
The statement will be reviewed in April 2024 upon launch of the new SCTS website.