Accessibility statement for Forestry England
Forestry England is committed to making its website as accessible, in accordance with the public sector bodies (websites and mobile applications) (no. 2) and accessibility regulations 2018. We want as many people as possible to be able to use this website. For example, this means that if needed, you should be able to:
- change colours, contrast levels and fonts.
- zoom in up to 400% without the text spilling off the screen and without content being truncated or overlapping.
- navigate the website using just a keyboard.
- navigate most of the website using 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.
This accessibility statement applies to forestryengland.uk and donate.forestryengland.uk
Compliance status
(b) These websites are 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
On donate.forestryengland.uk the content listed below is non-accessible for the following reason:
(a) non-compliance with the accessibility regulations
- WCAG 2.4.7 Focus visible
A visible focus helps users know which element has keyboard focus and where they are on the page. When an element gets focus there should be a visible border around it. Highlighting the element that has keyboard focus or is hovered over can provide information like whether the element is interactive or the scope of that element. - WCAG 1.4.3 Contrast (minimum)
Elements of the page heading 'Help us grow England's forests' do not have sufficient colour contrast due to the background image, making them difficult to see. - WCAG 1.1.1 Non-text content
Images must have ‘alternative text’ which to describe the information or function represented by the image, so people with sight loss can better understand the image. - WCAG 2.4.4 Link purpose (In context) and WCAG 4.1.2 Name, role, value
All link names should be accessible by a screen reader and be descriptive enough to tell a user where that link will take them. - WCAG 1.3.1 Info and relationships and WCAG 4.1.2 Name, role, value
Form labels help assistive technologies to understand what input is expected in a form field. Adding a label reduces confusion and enlarges the clickable area which helps users with limited motor control.
Non-accessible content
On forestryengland.uk the content listed below is non-accessible for the following reason:
(a) non-compliance with the accessibility regulations
- WCAG 1.4.5 Images on text
These cause problems for users who need to adjust how visual content like font size, spacing or colours are displayed. - WCAG 1.2.5 Audio description
These have not been provided for some videos, so some or all visual content cannot be accessed. - WCAG 4.1.2 Name, role, value
It is not possible to target some image links by name because their name is not what it appears to be. It is necessary to use other methods such as “mousegrid”, “click link” or “click button”. - WCAG 1.21 Video captions
These have not been provided for some videos, so the audio content cannot be accessed.
Preparation of this accessibility statement
This statement was prepared in April 2026. This website was last fully tested on 16 April 2022. The test was carried out by Test Partners Ltd. We have also carried out interim manual testing in 2024 and in 2026. A full technical audit will be carried out in 2027.
We followed GOV.UK guidance on deciding how to check the website as follows:
- we used an automated website mapping tool to identify all the pages and documents on the website.
- we grouped pages according to type, such as all the News pages, Blog pages, Articles, Events etc.
- we manually assessed a number of pages from each group to determine the level of consistency within the group and the type of content on those pages.
- we manually assessed all the “unique” pages, such as the home page, to determine the type of content on those pages.
- we identified a minimum representative subset of pages that contain examples of the most common layouts, components and features, including the header and footer, important “unique pages”, pages with text content and data tables, informational images, images of text and video content, interactive elements such as forms, tabbed interfaces, carousels, hide / reveal functionality, maps, interactive timeline, image gallery and content filtering.
- we conducted manual and automated WCAG audits on the representative subset of pages.
Feedback and contact information
We’re always looking to improve the accessibility of this website. If you find any problems not listed on this page or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, contact us at info@forestryengland.uk.
Enforcement procedure
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is responsible for enforcing the public sector bodies (websites and mobile applications) (no. 2) and 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).