The Resolution called for public websites to become Level AA
accessible, a reference to the best known benchmark, the Web
Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) of the Web Accessibility
Initiative (WAI). The Resolution states that, "for websites to be
accessible, it is essential that they are double-A compliant."
Three years on, not a single website achieved this rating in the
largest study of its kind.
The research was carried out by AbilityNet, Royal National
Institute for the Blind (RNIB), the Royal National Institute for
Deaf People (RNID), Dublin City University and the Society for
Information Technology Management (Socitm). The reasons for failure
are no different to similar studies of private sector websites,
such as text alternatives missing from images and navigation
that becomes impossible for anyone unable to use a mouse.
Three sites were praised as examples of good practice: Spain Social Security
Administration, UK Department
of Health and European Central
Bank. No other sites were identified in the report.
The study also compared national policies on "eAccessibility."
It found incentives for accessibility – legal or otherwise – in
Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Malta
and the UK. But it seems the incentives are not working.
The report was commissioned for the UK Presidency of the EU. Its
recommendations include setting "a clear target for making all
public sector websites in the EU conform with WCAG 1.0 Level
Double-A by 2010 as part of the i2010 strategy to promote an
inclusive European information society."
The Parliament Resolution of June 2002 included a request to the
European Commission to inform the Parliament about progress made by
the Member States and European institutions in applying WGAG
Version 1.0 by the end of that year. Clearly any such progress
report would have little to celebrate, even now.
Other recommendations in the publication include ensuring that
EU public procurement policy builds applicable W3C WAI guidance
requirements into all procurements of new website designs, major
upgrades, and all outsourced content production (such as reports,
publications, etc). The European Commission proposed changing
public procurement rules in this way in September, indicating that
it might happen by the end of 2005.
The Cabinet Office report also urges web managers and developers
in all public sector organisations to get existing sites up to
Level A by the end of 2006 and to achieve Level AA by end of 2008.
Meanwhile, web designers in the private sector are urged to develop
a competence framework for web designers which includes web
accessibility, and to use it for personal development schemes and
recruitment campaigns.
Speaking on behalf of the UK Presidency, Cabinet Office Minister
Jim Murphy, said: I am encouraged by the excellent examples of good
practice highlighted in this report but there are clearly
widespread failings which must be addressed."
