Accessibility statement - Public Defender Service

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We use small files called ‘cookies’ on publicdefenderservice.org.uk. Some are essential to make the site work, some help us to understand how we can improve your experience, and some are set by third parties. You can choose to turn off the non-essential cookies. Which cookies are you happy for us to use?

Google analytics
Name	Purpose	Expires
_ga	These help us count how many people visit on publicdefenderservice.org.uk by tracking if you’ve visited before	2 years
_gid	These help us count how many people visit on publicdefenderservice.org.uk by tracking if you’ve visited before	24 hours
_gat	These help us to manage how we collect analytics when we have lots of visitors on the site at one time	10 minutes

Google Analytics 4
Name	Purpose	Expires
_ga	Used to distinguish users.	2 years
_ga_67JK1WR9ZF	Used to persist session state.	2 years

Video Streaming
Name	Purpose	Expires
YouTube	YouTube videos play in privacy-enhanced mode. This mode may set third-party cookies on your computer when you click on the YouTube video player. These cookies will not be personally identifiable.	Read the YouTube policy
Vimeo	Vimeo videos set third-party cookies to enable the video to play and collect analytics data. These cookies do not track individuals.	Read the Vimeo policy

Social Media
Name	Purpose	Expires
Twitter	Twitter widgets may add cookies to help analyse usage and remember your session if you are also logged in to your Twitter account.	Read the Twitter policy

All users
Name	Purpose	Expires
wordpress_test_cookie	This is used to test whether the browser accepts cookies	When you close your browser
PHPSESSID	This is used to link your device to the information sent to the server from your browser. It is typically used to avoid you having to retype information when moving from one page to another.	When you close your browser
ccfw-banner-hidden	Lets us know you have chosen which cookies are used so we can stop the cookie banner appearing when you return to the site.	1 year
ccfw-gtm-allowed	Lets us know you have accepted certain cookies so we can stop them loading when you return to the site.	1 year
ccfw-time	This is used to store the cookie expiry dates so we know when to ask you again for consent.	1 year
info_banner_dismissed	This remembers if an information banner has been dismissed and prevents it from being displayed again.	When you close your browser

Logged in users
Name	Purpose	Expires
wordpress_[hash]	This authenticates you when you log in to the admin area	When you close your browser
wordpress_logged_in	This shows the site that you’re logged in and who you are so you can access the functions you need	When you close your browser
wordpress_sec	If you are logged in as a site admin, this stores your authentication details.	When you close your browser
wp-settings-{time}-[UID]	The number on the end [UID] is your individual user ID from the users database.	1 year

This statement applies to content published on publicdefenderservice.org.uk.

The Public Defender Service is responsible for the content of this website. The Ministry of Justice is responsible for the technical aspects.

We want as many people as possible to be able to use this website. For example, that means you should be able to:

change colours, contrast levels and fonts
zoom in up to 300% without the text spilling off the screen
navigate the website using just a keyboard

AbilityNet has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability.

Feedback and contact information

If you need information on this website in a different format, you can contact us:

Public Defender Service
102 Petty France
London
SW1H 9AJ

Email: pds.businessteam@justice.gov.uk

Reporting accessibility problems

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 pds.businessteam@justice.gov.uk giving details of the issue and any assistive technology you are using.

Enforcement procedure

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is responsible for enforcing the accessibility regulations. If you’re not happy with how we respond to your complaint, contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS).

Technical information about this website’s accessibility

The Public Defender Service is committed to making its website accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.

Compliance status

This website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 AA standard, due to the non-compliance issues listed below.

Non-accessible content

The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons.

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

Some PDFs published after 23 September 2018 fail WCAG 2.1 1.3.1 Info and Relationships.
- PDFs do not contain a H1 heading.
- PDFs do not follow a logical order.
- PDFs include tables that do contain header elements or other table mark-up.

Disproportionate burden

Not applicable

Content that’s not within the scope of the accessibility regulations

PDFs and other documents

The accessibility regulations do not require us to fix PDFs or other documents published before 23 September 2018 if they’re not essential to providing our services.

What we’re doing to improve accessibility

We are working to fix the issues listed in this statement.

We will monitor the accessibility of this website on an ongoing basis and fix any accessibility issues reported to us.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 27 July 2022.

The website was last tested on 13 July 2022. The tests on the website were carried out by the Ministry of Justice. We completed accessibility checks on a representative sample of pages using keyboard testing and the WAVE automated testing tool.