Accessibility

BlueLineHub targets conformance with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 at Level AA. This is the standard used by the UK Government for public-facing digital services under the Public Sector Bodies Accessibility Regulations 2018. While BlueLineHub is an independent platform and is not legally obliged to meet these regulations, we treat WCAG 2.2 AA as the right baseline for a platform that serves a broad and diverse community of users.

We test our pages using automated tools (Lighthouse, axe DevTools) and manual review. We aim to conduct a full accessibility audit at least twice a year. This page is updated following each audit.

BlueLineHub is designed to be fully navigable by keyboard without requiring a mouse. All interactive elements — navigation menus, buttons, links, form inputs, and modals — are reachable and operable using the Tab key. Focus states are visible and meet WCAG 2.2 AA contrast requirements for focus indicators.

Modal dialogs trap focus correctly and return focus to the triggering element on close. Dropdown menus can be operated with arrow keys and closed with the Escape key. Where custom interactive components are used, we implement appropriate ARIA roles and keyboard interaction patterns per the WAI-ARIA Authoring Practices Guide.

A “Skip to main content” link is available at the top of every page. It is visually hidden until it receives keyboard focus, at which point it becomes visible and allows users to skip past the navigation to the main page content. This benefits keyboard users and screen reader users who would otherwise have to tab through the full navigation on every page.

All body text and UI text on BlueLineHub meets the WCAG 2.2 AA minimum contrast ratio of 4.5:1 against its background. Large text (18pt or 14pt bold) meets the minimum of 3:1. Our accent colour (police teal) is used for interactive links and is contrast-checked in all contexts where it appears.

We do not convey information using colour alone. Status indicators, alerts, and error states use both colour and an icon or text label to ensure they are distinguishable by users with colour vision deficiency.

All meaningful images on BlueLineHub include descriptive alt text that conveys the purpose and content of the image. Decorative images that add no informational value are marked with an empty alt attribute (alt="") so that screen readers skip over them.

Icons used in navigation and UI are accompanied by visible text labels or accessible names via aria-label attributes. We do not use icon-only buttons without an accessible name.

We are aware of the following limitations and are working to address them:

• User-generated community content — posts and replies in the community section may contain images without alt text or content that does not meet contrast requirements. We cannot retrospectively apply accessibility standards to all user-generated content but will update our community editor to encourage best practice.
• Third-party embeds — any third-party widgets or embeds (such as external calculators or social feeds) may not fully meet WCAG 2.2 AA. We aim to minimise the use of third-party content and will label known limitations where they exist.
• PDF downloads — any downloadable PDF documents linked from BlueLineHub may not be fully accessible. We are working to provide accessible HTML alternatives for all substantive downloadable content.

If you encounter an accessibility barrier on BlueLineHub — something you cannot access, a page that is difficult to use with assistive technology, or a contrast or focus issue — please tell us. We want to know about it.

Contact us via our contact page with as much detail as you can provide: the URL of the affected page, the type of assistive technology you are using (if any), and a description of the barrier. We will acknowledge your report within two working days and aim to resolve the issue within 10 working days.

If you are not satisfied with our response, you may contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS).