Skip to main content

Accessibility statement for Protect your lifetime allowance service

This accessibility statement explains how accessible this service is, what to do if you have difficulty using it, and how to report accessibility problems with the service.

This service is part of the wider GOV.UK website. There is a separate accessibility statement for the main GOV.UK website.

This page only contains information about the Protect your lifetime allowance service, available at https://www.tax.service.gov.uk/protect-your-lifetime-allowance.

Using this service

The Protect your lifetime allowance service lets individuals apply to protect their lifetime pension allowance. It also allows you to view your existing allowance protections in your personal tax account.

This service is run by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). We want as many people as possible to be able to use this service. This means you should be able to:

  • change colours, contrast levels and fonts
  • zoom in up to 300% without the text spilling off the screen
  • get from the start of the service to the end using just a keyboard
  • get from the start of the service to the end using speech recognition software
  • listen to the service using a screen reader (including the most recent versions of JAWS, NVDA and VoiceOver)

We have also made the text in the service as simple as possible to understand.

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

How accessible this service is

This service is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 AA standard.

Some people may find parts of this service difficult to use:

  • users were timed out of the service without any prior warning.
  • non descriptive links on the check your answers page.
  • incorrect use of tooltip role.
  • tables not marked up correctly.
  • markup for label used incorrectly.
  • text introducing content should be marked up as headings.
  • colour contrast of text failed to meet the expected ratio to pass WCAG 2.1 AA.
  • some elements present that did not pass the expected ratio for non-text content.
  • error messages should be descriptive and clear for the user to know which field is wrong and how to amend.

What to do if you have difficulty using this service

You can contact HMRC for extra support if you need help with filling in forms or getting a different format, like large print, audio recording or Braille.

Reporting accessibility problems with this service

We are always looking to improve the accessibility of this service. If you find any problems that are not listed on this page or think we are not meeting accessibility requirements, report the accessibility problem.

If you are not happy with our response

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 are not happy with how we respond to your complaint, contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS) or the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland (ECNI) if you live in Northern Ireland.

Contacting us by phone or getting a visit from us in person

We provide a text relay service if you are deaf, hearing impaired or have a speech impediment.

We can provide a British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter, or you can arrange a visit from an HMRC advisor to help you complete the service.

Find out how to get extra support from HMRC.

Technical information about this service’s accessibility

HMRC is committed to making this service accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.

This service 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.

Non‐compliance with the accessibility regulations

Users were timed out after a period of time without prior warning. This can be disorientating for people with disabilities such as blindness, low vision, dexterity impairments, and cognitive limitations. This doesn’t meet WCAG 2.1 success criteria 2.2.1 (timing adjustable), 2.2.6 (timeouts) and 2.2.5 (re-authenticating). This will be fixed by 31 December 2024.

The ‘change’ and ‘remove’ links on this page which refer to the information you have inputted on previous pages, are all missing descriptive text. This doesn’t meet WCAG 2.1 success criteria 2.4.4 (link purpose). This will be fixed by 31 December 2024.

The error message on this page has been marked up as a list with a role of tooltip. This is not a tooltip as it is always visible on the page. This doesn’t meet WCAG 2.1 success criteria 4.1.2 (name, role, value). This will be fixed by 31 December 2024.

On this step of the service, a summary of information is displayed in a table, however there are no table headers present in either of the columns or rows and empty fields are read out to screen reader users, the relationship between content is not clear. This doesn’t meet WCAG 2.1 success criteria 1.3.1 (info and relationships). This will be fixed by 31 December 2024.

While navigating this page in Internet Explorer, the details components is in its expanded state and the label which is associated with the required field actually encases all of the expandable information. This doesn’t meet WCAG 2.1 success criteria 4.1.1 (parsing). This will be fixed by 31 December 2024.

Headings are an integral part of page structure and are used by all users for navigation, understanding layout and introducing and logically segregating information. This doesn’t meet WCAG 2.1 success criteria 1.3.1 (info and relationships). This will be fixed by 31 December 2024.

The ‘English’ text in the header to change the language of the page fails to meet the expected ratio of 4.5:1 and may cause difficulties for low vision users. This doesn’t meet WCAG 2.1 success criteria 1.4.3 (contrast minimum) and 1.4.6 (contrast enhanced). This will be fixed by 31 December 2024.

The colour of the focus indicator used throughout the service failed to meet the expected ratio of 3:1 to pass WCAG 2.1 success criteria 1.4.11 Non-text contrast AA and may prove difficult for some users to perceive. This doesn’t meet WCAG 2.1 success criteria 1.4.11 (non-text contrast). This will be fixed by 31 December 2024.

When entering the incorrect date format, the error message displayed shows the wrong solution to amend the mistake made on the page. This doesn’t meet WCAG 2.1 success criteria 3.3.3 (error suggestion). This will be fixed by 31 December 2024.

How we tested this service

The service was last tested on 2 November 2020 and was checked for compliance with WCAG 2.1 AA.

The service was built using parts that were tested by the Digital Accessibility Centre. The full service was tested by HMRC and included disabled users.

This page was prepared on 18 September 2020. It was last updated on 18 September 2020.

Is this page not working properly? (opens in new tab)