Accessibility Statement
Read our accessibility statement for the HLAMap website and discover our work on digital access.
This is the accessibility statement for the Historic Land Use Assessment Map (‘HLAMap’) website: HLAMap.org.uk. We are dedicated to accessibility and want as many people as possible to be able to use our websites. The statement below outlines the accessibility of our website and where any issues may be found.
Using this website
We want as many people as possible to be able to use this website and access Scotland’s history and heritage. We built this website so you can:
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.
How accessible this website is
While we work hard to make our platforms and content accessible, we know some parts of this website aren’t fully accessible yet.
Here is a brief list of content that is not currently accessible:
What to do if you can’t access parts of this website
If you need information on this website in a different format like accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording, or braille:
We’ll consider your request and try to get back to you in 5 working days, or if your request is more complex, please allow us up to 20 working days for a full reply.
When contacting us please make sure you provide:
Find out more about our customer services in our service standards.
Reporting accessibility problems with this website
We’re always looking to improve the accessibility of this website. If you find any problems that aren’t listed on this page or think we’re not meeting the requirements of the accessibility regulations, contact the digital team:
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 submit a complaint and you’re not happy with how we respond, contact the EHRC.
Contacting us by phone or visiting us in person
You can also visit us in person for more resources. Find us at:
Longmore House
Salisbury Place
Edinburgh
EH9 1SH
For directions, please call 0131 668 8600 or view our location on Google Maps.
Our Access Guide is also available for visitors to the historic places in our care.
Let us know about any requirements you have in advance of your visit and we will endeavour to accommodate you:
Technical information about this website’s accessibility
HES is committed to making this website accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.
This website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 AA standard, due to the non-compliances listed below.
Non accessible content
The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons.
Noncompliance with the accessibility regulations
Buttons and labels
Some of the buttons on the website are not labelled with a name that describes their purpose. Some of the buttons are also not labelled descriptively in the mark up of the website. This may impact on you if you use a screen reader or voice control. This does not meet WCAG 2.1 A-level success criterion 1.1.1 (Non-text content: controls).
Some of the forms on the website have labelled fields but do not have labelled buttons. This may make it difficult to determine the purpose of the button used to submit the information. This does not meet WCAG 2.1 A-level success criterion 1.3.5 (Identify input purpose) and 3.2.2 (On input: UI components and context).
For items on the website like links and images that are repeated consistently and in the same order across multiple pages of the website, we have not used standard or identical labels and alt-text for said repeated content. This does not meet WCAG 2.1 AA-level success criteria 3.2.4 (Consistent identification).
Some buttons may be missing labels or instructions. This does not meet WCAG 2.1 A-level success criterion 3.3.2 (Labels or instructions).
Non-text content (media, tables, and text alternatives)
Some images or non-text content do not have alternative text or descriptive enough labels to explain their content. This means that the information displayed by them is not available to people using a screen reader and they cannot skip past the decorative images. This does not meet WCAG 2.1 A-level success criterion 1.1.1 (Non-text content: sensory content).
Some images are used as decoration on the website and should be marked as such. People using a screen reader may not be notified that these are non-essential images and may worry they have missed some information. This does not meet WCAG 2.1 A-level success criterion 1.1.1 (Non-text content: decoration, formatting, invisible).
User interface components (things users click on) that include visual text or images of text may not have names that reflect the visual text. This does not meet WCAG 2.1 A-level success criterion 2.5.3 (Label in name).
Sensory characteristics and colour contrast
Some information and items (like links) on the website are only distinguishable by colour. This means users might not be able to see or recognise the information and/or function of the item. This does not meet WCAG 2.1 A-level success criteria 1.4.1 (Use of colour).
The colour contrast of large-scale text, images of text, and graphical objects on the website may not be high enough to display content clearly (except for logos which are a contrast exception). This does not meet WCAG 2.1 AA-level success criterion 1.4.3 (Contrast minimum) and 1.4.11 (Non-text contrast: graphical objects).
Visual formatting (zoom, orientation, resolution, and text spacing)
We cannot guarantee that all the website text meets the minimum text-spacing requirements. This does not meet WCAG 2.1 AA-level success criterion 1.4.12 (Text spacing).
Hovering the mouse pointer over some content does not always reveal hidden content and the hidden content may not be easily accessible. If the content can be seen on hover over, sometimes it cannot be dismissed. Whether content appears on hover over or not, we cannot guarantee content remains visible and can be dismissed by other means. This does not meet WCAG 2.1 AA-level success criterion 1.4.13 (Content on hover over or focus: dismissible content, hoverable content, persistent content).
Website navigation and page timing
There may not be an option for the user to turn off time limits on the website so that they are not timed out. This does not meet WCAG 2.1 A-level success criterion 2.2.1 (Timing adjustable: turn off timing).
There may not be an option for the user to adjust time limits on the website so that they are not timed out. This does not meet WCAG 2.1 A-level success criterion 2.2.1 (Timing adjustable: adjust timing).
There may be locations on the website where interaction with content requires a non-essential multipoint or path-based gesture. This does not meet WCAG 2.1 A-level success criterion 2.5.1 (Pointer gestures).
Some navigational mechanisms (like links or menus) that are repeated on multiple web pages within a set of web pages may not occur in the same relative order each time they are repeated. This does not meet WCAG 2.1 AA-level success criterion 3.2.3 (Consistent navigation).
Web page titling, language settings, and content
There may not be a way to programmatically determine (determine in the code) the way content should be read on the website when the meaning of the website content is dependent upon it. This does not meet WCAG 2.1 A-level success criterion 1.3.2 (Meaningful sequence).
The purpose of some links may not be described in the text or title of the link, so it may prove difficult to understand the purpose of the link. This does not meet WCAG 2.1 A-level success criterion 2.4.4 (Link purpose: in context).
Website mark up and functionality
Some of the information, structure and relationships of items on the website are not coded, labelled or grouped properly; therefore, assistive technologies may get confused. This can result in parts of the website not being accessible to people using assistive technology. This does not meet WCAG 2.1 A-level success criterion 1.3.1 (Info and relationships).
Our website form submissions may not be reversible and there may not be a service that checks, reviews, and confirms the fields before submission. This does not meet WCAG 2.1 AA-level success criterion 3.3.4 (Error prevention: reversible submissions; input check and confirming).
The name and role for all user interface components (things the user can interact with) may not be capable of being programmatically determined (verified in the website code); the website states, properties, and values (things used to interact with the website) that can be set by the user may not be capable of being programmatically set (changed in the code); and notifications of changes to any of these items may not be available to user or assistive technologies. This does not meet WCAG 2.1 A-level success criterion 4.1.2 (Name, role, value).
In the event of a status message being published on the website, the status message may not be programmatically determined through role or properties that make them accessible to assistive technologies without receiving focus. This does not meet WCAG 2.1 A-level success criterion 4.1.3 (Status messages).
By September 2021, we will work to update the websites with:
Disproportionate Burden
We are committed to improving the bulleted criteria above; however, this website has the potential of being subsumed - and thereby rationalised - by an upcoming website consolidation project within the next one to two years. We have assessed the cost of fixing all other accessibility issues against the website’s planned rationalisation and believe doing so would be a disproportionate burden within the meaning of the accessibility regulations. Since we plan to address many of these failed criteria during the upcoming project, we will make another assessment of our commitments when we review the website and project in 2021.
Content that’s not within the scope of the accessibility regulations
PDFs and other documents
Some of our older office file format documents (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDFs) were published before 23 September 2018 and are not used for administrative or essential purposes and so may be inaccessible. Due to their age and non-essential status, they are exempt under Reg 4(2)(a).
Non-navigational online maps and mapping services
Maps on this website are not AA accessible but they are not used for navigational purposes and are therefore exempt from under Reg 4(2)(d).
The heritage collections composed of digitised mediums delivered by this website fall into the accessibility regulation’s descriptions of a heritage collection under Reg 4(3)(c). , the collections are exempt from the accessibility regulations under Reg 4(2)(f).
How we tested this website
The HLAMap website was tested for most WCAG 2.1 A-AA accessibility requirements by a web crawler hosted by a third-party company called Siteimprove. They revealed accessibility issues that require attention. We analyse and act on these tests to update our accessibility on a regular basis.
Siteimprove’s software does not test for some accessibility requirements outlined by the WCAG 2.1 A-AA. However, we manually tested a sample of pages of the HLAMap website for these requirements and will test manually again on an annual basis.
What we’re doing to improve accessibility
We’ll continue to update and audit our accessibility on an annual basis to ensure we fully meet single A and double AA standards.
We are always looking to improve our accessibility services and view accessibility as an ethical and professional obligation. If you have suggestions on how we can improve our accessibility, please contact the Digital Team and our Equalities Manager:
This statement was prepared on 11 November 2019. It was last updated on 22 May 2020.
