Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps their Department is taking to improve its digital services to provide better (a) accessibility and (b) user experience for the public.

The Government's Central Digital and Data Office (CDDO) is responsible for producing the Service Standard (https://www.gov.uk/service-manual/service-standard) which guides Government teams as to how they should design and produce content providing information regarding public services.

Government teams are required to make sure that all information is accessible across all channels, including online, phone, paper and face to face. Government teams must also make sure that everyone can use their services, including disabled people, people with other legally protected characteristics, people who do not have access to the internet and/or lack the skills and/or confidence to use the internet.

CDDO provides clear guidance on how to make non-digital parts of a Government service as widely accessible as possible by providing a contact for users and providing forms in alternative formats for example, large print, braille or audio CD.

All of the Ministry of Defence's public-facing digital services are designed in full accordance with Government Digital Service design patterns to ensure usability and accessibility. A notable example of success is our service to Apply for a Deceased Person's Military Record, which is one of HM Government's Top 75 services. This meets the "Great" service standard, including being compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 to AA standard and recently hitting a 96 per cent customer satisfaction rate.