Accessibility statement for www.ombudsman.wales / www.ombwdsmon.cymru

This accessibility statement applies to www.ombudsman.wales / www.ombwdsmon.cymru.

Using this website

This website is run by the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales. We want as many people as possible to be able to use this website. For example, that means you should be able to:

  • navigate the website using text-to-speech software
  • navigate the website using just a keyboard
  • navigate the website using speech recognition software
  • use the website using a screen reader (including the most recent versions of JAWS, NVDA and VoiceOver)
  • change colours, contrast levels and fonts
  • change text size
  • access the website content with zoom in up to 400%.

To enable some of these options, we have installed a ReachDeck toolbar, which allows you to instantly convert online content to audio on our website. You can find the toolbar along the stripe at the top of the website.

You can also use these options through your web browser controls.  Different browsers have different methods for changing these settings, so you will need to consult the ‘Help’ section on your browser to find out how to do this.

Our site is built to work with up to date versions of all popular web browsers, such as Microsoft Edge, Firefox, Google Chrome, Opera and Safari. You should be able to view our website on phone or tablet.

We are always working to make the website text easier to understand.

AbilityNet has advice on making your device easier to use if you are disabled.

How accessible this website is

We know some parts of this website are not fully accessible:

  • most older PDF documents are not fully accessible to screen reader software

Feedback and contact information

If you find any problems not listed on this page or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, contact:

communications@ombudsman.wales

call 0300 790 0203 (option 3)

If you need information on this website in a different format, such as an accessible PDF, large print, Easy Read, audio recording or braille, contact:

communications@ombudsman.wales

call 0300 790 0203 (option 3)

We’ll consider your request and reply in 5 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’re not happy with how we respond to your complaint, contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS).

Technical information about this website accessibility

The Public Services Ombudsman for Wales is committed to making its websites accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.

Compliance status

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

Non-accessible content

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

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

We outline below outstanding accessibility issues related to our website content. We also explain what steps we are taking to address these issues.

Many historic PDF files on the website are not fully accessible. For example:

  • PDF titles: according to WCAG 2.4.2 Page titled, PDF documents should have titles that describe the topic or purpose of the page. Titles help users understand the topic without having to read the entire document. The title is missing from some PDF files on our websites.
  • Alternate text: People with sight loss may not see an image clearly on a page. According to WCAG 1.1.1 Non-text content, there must be a text alternative to share the information. The alternative text must describe the information or function represented by the image. In PDF documents images must tagged correctly with alternative text. Alt text is missing from some PDF files on our websites.

We have prioritised updating some PDF files on our website (we give more details below). We are also undertaking training to ensure that all PDF documents we create in the future have full accessibility features.

Disproportionate burden

Although our website is now fully accessible, it may not be possible to ensure that all historic PDF files on the website are fully accessible as well.

While we have taken steps since 2023 to reduce the number of PDF documents on the website and replace them with HTML versions, there remain 482 PDF documents on each of our websites (Welsh and English), and 964 PDF documents in total (as at 19/02/2025). We do not have the resources to update all PDF documents on our website. We believe that doing so now would be a disproportionate burden within the meaning of the accessibility regulations.

Our new website was launched in 2024, with final features and accessibility fixes completed in December. Following this, we identified 30 PDF documents to be updated as the highest priority. These included:

  • Documents related to how to complain to us and what support we can offer to remove barriers to complaining (complaint form, key leaflets and guides)
  • Latest Annual Report and Accounts, Annual Equality Report, Annual Welsh Language Report and Annual Sustainability Report
  • Strategic Plans and Business Plans
  • Welsh Language Policy
  • Key documents related to our Own Initiative work and our work as Complaints Standards Authority for Wales
  • Key guidance on the Code of Conduct for Welsh councillors
  • Key guidance for public service providers in Wales
  • Any PDF documents uploaded to the website from December 2024 onwards.

We did not amend our Easy Read PDF documents as these documents are created for us by an external provider who are asked to ensure that accessibility requirements are met.

Content not within the scope of the accessibility regulations

The accessibility regulations do not require us to fix PDFs or other documents published before 23 September 2018 if they’re not essential to providing our services. Any new PDFs or Word documents we publish will meet accessibility standards.

What we’re doing to improve accessibility

We will continue to reduce the overall number of PDF documents on our website, with the aim to achieve a 35% reduction by the end of September 2025.

We will also undertake focused training to improve our capacity to make our PDF documents fully accessible.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was originally prepared on 12 March 2024.

Government Digital Service checked the previous version of the website (www.ombudsman.wales) on 26 February 2024 against the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 AA standard.

This statement was last reviewed on 24 March 2025.

It will be next reviewed by 24 March 2026.