This accessibility statement applies to www.creativescotland.com. This website is run by Creative Scotland.
We want as many people as possible to be able to use this website. For example, that means you should be able to:
- change colours, contrast levels and fonts using browser or device settings
- zoom in up to 400% without the text spilling off the screen
- navigate most of the website using a keyboard or speech recognition software
- listen to most of the website using a screen reader (including the most recent versions of JAWS, NVDA and VoiceOver)
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.
The page explains the compliance status of the website, and provides guidance on how to adapt the website for your needs.
Technical information about this website's accessibility
Creative Scotland 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
This website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 AA standard due to the non-compliances and the exemptions listed below.
Non-accessible content
The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reason(s):
Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations
WCAG 1.1.1 Non-text Content
All non-text content that is presented to the user has a text alternative that serves the equivalent purpose, except for the situations listed on the WCAG webpage. A small amount of images on the website have been found to be missing their alt text. We hope to have this fixed by the end of April 2024.
WCAG 1.2.5: Audio Description (Prerecorded)
Audio description should be provided for all prerecorded video content in synchronised media, unless in some cases where all of the information in the video track is already provided in the audio track. Some of our videos do not have an audio description, where they should have one.
WCAG 1.3.1 Info and Relationships
<ul> and <ol> must only directly contain <li>, <script> or <template> elements. Our top right menu does not meet this requirement. We hope to have this fixed by the end of April 2024.
WCAG 1.3.1 Info and Relationships and WCAG 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value
Form elements must have labels. The five input boxes in the Contact form, such as 'Name' and 'Subject', do not have accessible labels. We hope to have this fixed by the end of April 2024.
WCAG 1.3.1 Info and Relationships: Tables
Some tables in our PDFs published prior to 2024 do not have correctly marked up headers. We are working our way through these and hope to have them fixed by the start of 2025.
WCAG 1.4.1 Use of Color: Links must be distinguishable without relying on colour.
This refers to the 'Home' link in the breadcrumb bar, the 'by email' and 'explore our FAQs' links beneath the 'Contact Us' heading, and the 'Try searching the archive' link below the 'Latest News' heading. We hope to have this fixed by the end of April 2024.
WCAG 1.4.3 Contrast (minimum): Elements must have sufficient colour contrast.
Some of our text, links and images do not have sufficient colour contrast. This relates to the top bar links, 'Screen Scotland', 'Opportunities' and 'Funding Portal', text added to the form fields on the contact form, some text used in images, the date published text next to each article in our News section, links in the breadcrumb bar, and links in the main body of pages. We hope to have this fixed by the end of April 2024.
WCAG 1.4.4 Resize Text
At 200% zoom, the 'reCAPTCHA' checkbox is partly cut off in our contact form. Zooming is disabled for mobile devices on some pages. We hope to have this fixed by the end of April 2024.
WCAG 1.4.5 Images of Text
Images of text are used on the site. Images of text cause problems for users who need to adjust how visual content like font size, spacing or colours are displayed. The image quality can reduce and become blurry when users increase page magnification. Images of text where text cannot be formatted to the same effect, for example logos or for consistency with branding, are permitted. Going forward, we will review our approach to imagery and look to have a consistent approach that is compliant by the end of 2024, in line with our website redesign.
WCAG 1.4.10 Reflow
At 400% zoom and in mobile view (320x256), the 'reCAPTCHA' checkbox in the contact form is partly cut off. In mobile view (320x256), our in-page embedded widget feeds such as Facebook and Instagram do not reflow correctly, meaning the user has to scroll to view the full content. We hope to have this fixed by the end of April 2024 – if we are unable to deploy a fix, then we will look to remove this functionality.
WCAG 2.1.1 Keyboard
The back to top button cannot be accessed using the keyboard. At 200% and 400% zoom, the search bar and hamburger menu cannot be accessed using the keyboard. We hope to have this fixed by the end of April 2024.
WCAG 2.1.2 No Keyboard Trap
When using the keyboard to access the page, there is no mechanism to skip embedded widgets such as social media feeds and Spotify playlists, meaning the user has to scroll through all the tweets to continue to the rest of the page content. We hope to have this fixed by the end of April 2024 – if we are unable to deploy a fix, then we will look to remove this functionality.
WCAG 2.4.1 Bypass Blocks and WCAG 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value: Frames must have an accessible name.
Embedded widgets using iframes, such as Instagram and Facebook feeds, do not have an accessible name, which would allow people who navigate sequentially through content more direct access to the primary content of the Web page. We hope to have this fixed by the end of April 2024 – if we are unable to deploy a fix, then we will look to remove this functionality.
WCAG 2.4.2 Page titled
The page title is missing within the document settings on many of our PDFs. We are working our way through these and hope to have them fixed by the start of 2025.
WCAG 2.4.4 Link Purpose (In Context) and WCAG 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value: Links must have discernible text.
This refers to the sitewide links in the top right of the page, for example 'Media Centre', 'Funding FAQs' and 'Sign Up', as well as some of our news stories. The purpose of the link cannot be determined from the link text alone in these cases, which does not comply with this success criterion. We hope to have this fixed by the end of April 2024.
WCAG 2.4.7 Focus Visible
The focus is not always visible on the social media widgets contained on our homepage - 'Creative Scotland on Twitter' and 'Creative Scotland on Instagram'. There is no visible focus on the cookie button or on the buttons and links in the cookie banner. We hope to have this fixed by the end of April 2024.
WCAG 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value: Select element must have an accessible name.
This refers to the combobox next to the 'To*' field in the contact form, which has not been given an accessible name to ensure that Assistive Technologies (AT) can gather information about, activate (or set) and keep up to date on the status of user interface controls in the content. We hope to have this fixed by the end of April 2024 when we develop a new contact form.
Content that’s not within the scope of the accessibility regulations
View the full list of content exempt from meeting the accessibility regulations on legislation.gov.uk.
PDFs and other documents
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. Many of our older PDFs and other documents which are not essential to providing our services may not be optimised for accessibility. We are, however, systematically working through our older documents to fix this.
Live video
Live video is exempt from meeting the accessibility regulations, however where possible, and where the technology will allow, we will endeavour to use live captioning.
Pre-recorded audio and video published before 23 September 2020
Some pre-recorded videos published before 23 September 2020 may not include captions. This fails WCAG success criteria 1.2.2 Captions (Prerecorded). We may not add captions to these videos because prerecorded video published before 23 September 2020 is exempt from meeting the accessibility regulations.
Some pre-recorded videos published before 23 September 2020 may require, but don't include, audio description. This fails WCAG success criteria 1.2.5 Audio Description (pre-recorded). We may not add audio description to these videos because prerecorded video published before 23 September 2020 is exempt from meeting the accessibility regulations.
Third party content under someone else's control
Where we have not paid for or developed third party content, it is exempt from meeting the accessibility regulations.
Archived websites
Arcived websites are exempt from meeting the accessibility regulations when they are not needed for services the organisation provides, and are not updated. This applies to websites we have had archived by the National Records of Scotland.
Preparation of this accessibility statement
This statement was initially prepared on 29 September 2023. It was last reviewed on Monday 22 January 2024.
This website was last tested on Friday 19 January 2024. The test was carried out by Creative Scotland staff, using both CMS-based and browser-based accessibility testing tools, across a variety of web browsers and devices. We tested pages highlighted in a recent GDS Audit as well as other pages that include alternative layouts.
This website will be given a significant redesign in 2024, at which point the website will be retested, and the accessibility statement will be reviewed and updated.
Feedback and contact information
Please contact us if you have an accessibility query including:
- if you are experiencing issues with accessing information or using the website.
- if you find an accessibility problem not listed on this statement.
- if you have positive feedback on the accessibility considerations made.
You can also get in touch if you need information on this website in a different format like Gaelic, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille. Learn more about the support we offer on our Access Support page.
You can get in touch with us through our Enquiries form, by email and over the phone by requesting a callback.
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).