Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to Part One of the National Disability Strategy, published 28 July 2021, what recent steps her Department has taken to (a) build the evidence base on the nature and scale of the inaccessibility of private sector websites and (b) explore how the Government can effectively intervene.

We are aware that for people who have a disability, inadequate design of apps or websites - which does not take disabled users into account - is a significant issue. As part of the commitment made in the government’s National Disability Strategy 2021, DCMS commissioned an internal study into the nature and scale of the inaccessibility of private sector websites; the first stage of which was completed in late 2021.

The conclusions of this study are currently being considered by policy teams in collaboration with the government’s disability unit. DCMS is using this evidence to explore how the government can make effective interventions in this space. We aim to conclude our findings and options in spring 2022.

This work will complement the government’s 2018 publication of the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) Accessibility Regulations. Led and monitored by the Government Digital Services (GDS), these regulations require UK public sector websites and apps to be made accessible, unless it would be disproportionate to do so.