This statement applies to content published on the Central Laser Facility website.

We want as many people as possible to be able to use and understand our website.

Our accessibility commitment includes making sure that our website visitors can:

  • easily understand our web pages by making the content as simple as possible
  • zoom in up to 300% on a webpage without the text spilling off the screen
  • navigate most of 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.

How accessible this website is

Some parts of this website are not fully accessible. For example:

  • PDF documents are not fully accessible to all screen reader software
  • Some headings may be incorrectly labelled

What to do if you cannot access parts of this website

If you need information on this website in a different format, email: CLFENQUIRIES@stfc.ac.uk, go to our Contact us page, or if indicated, use the contact link or email shown on the web page in question.

Include in your email the web address of the content (specific URL) and the format you need. For example:

  • accessible PDF
  • large print
  • easy read version
  • audio
  • braille

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

Reporting accessibility problems with this website

If you find any problems not listed on this page or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, email: CLFENQUIRIES@stfc.ac.uk.

Enforcement procedure

The Equality and Human Rights Commission is responsible for enforcing the public sector bodies (websites and mobile applications) (No.2) accessibility regulations 2018.

If you make a complaint and you’re not happy with how we respond, you can contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service.

Non-accessible content

The following content does not meet accessibility standards for these reasons.

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

Form fields with missing or unclear labels

Some form fields do not have clear labels or instructions. In some cases, it is not clear how related fields are grouped together.

Some parts of the website, such as buttons and controls, are not clearly described when using a screen reader. This may make it difficult for users to understand what to do or what information to enter.

This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.1.1 (non-text content), 1.3.1 (info and relationships), 1.3.5 (identify input purpose), 3.3.2 (labels or instructions), and 4.1.2 (name, role, value).

Buttons without descriptive labels

Some buttons do not clearly describe what they do. In some cases, the meaning is only clear from the surrounding content. This may make it harder for users to understand their purpose.

This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.1.1 (non-text content), 1.3.1 (info and relationships), 1.3.5 (identify input purpose), 3.3.2 (labels or instructions), and 4.1.2 (name, role, value).

Unclear links

Some links do not clearly describe where they go or what they do. This can be confusing when using a screen reader, especially when links are read out of context.

This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.3.1 (info and relationships) and 2.4.4 (link purpose in context).

PDFs and other documents

Many of our PDFs and other document types do not meet accessibility standards. Common issues include:

  • missing or incorrect titles
  • documents that are not machine readable
  • missing or incorrect tags
  • headings that are not used correctly
  • no default language specified
  • missing bookmarks in longer documents

This means some documents may be difficult to use with a screen reader or other assistive technologies.

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

Older PDFs and other documents

Some of our older PDFs and Microsoft Office documents may not meet accessibility standards. These include historic reports and case studies.

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. We will not replace these documents with accessible versions.

What we’re doing to improve accessibility

We are:

  • testing and reviewing our website regularly to identify and fix accessibility issues
  • training staff and providing guidance on creating accessible documents
  • reviewing documents for accessibility before they are published
  • creating HTML versions of documents where possible

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 9 February 2026. It was last reviewed and updated on 9 October 2026.

This website was last tested on 29 June 2026. The test was carried out by the Shaw Trust against WCAG 2.2 AA level compliance. It included extensive testing by users with a wide range of disabilities.

The Shaw Trust carried out testing on a sample of pages. Criteria included:

  • pages that gave a good example of each one of our templates
  • pages that included images, multimedia content and interactive elements
  • pages that included web forms