Accessibility Statement for hblb.org.uk

This accessibility statement applies to the Horserace Betting Levy Board website: https://hblb.org.uk

This website is run by the Horserace Betting Levy Board (HBLB). 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 200% 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. My Computer My Way has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability and the AT Hive can help you find assistive technologies that work for you.

How accessible this website is

We know some parts of this website are not fully accessible. You can see a full list of any issues we currently know about in the non-accessibile content section of this statement.

Feedback and contact information

We will always aim to respond to accessibility issues when they are raised with us.

Please contact us if you:

  • Need to access our information in a more accessible format.
  • Need to report an accessibility issue with an hblb.org.uk website.
  • Wish to complain about any aspect of accessibility on an hblb.org.uk website.

We can be contacted via accessibility@hblb.org.uk or you can call 020 7333 0043. Further contact information may be found on our Location and Contact web page.

We should reply to you within 10 days.

Alternatively, you can use our "Is there anything wrong with this page?" feedback form to anonymously report accessibility problems on specific web pages. The link for this form appears at the foot of every www.hblb.org.uk web page.

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’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

HBLB 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

The website has been tested against the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 AA standard.

This website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.2 AA standard, due to the non-compliances and exemptions listed below.

Non-accessible content

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

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

  • The organisation chart and rate card images does not have appropriate alt text. This fails WCAG 1.1.1 Non-text Content (A).
  • Some press releases are missing programmatic headings. Some pages contain lists of links which should be structured as programmatic lists. Tables across the website do not have appropriate page structure. Contact details page uses a table for visual layout only. This fails WCAG 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (A).
  • A small number of links fail contrast. This fails WCAG 1.4.3 Contrast (Minimum) (AA).
  • The organisation chart and rate card images includes text without alternatives. This fails WCAG 1.4.5 Images of Text (AA).
  • The organisation chart image responds poorly to magnification. This fails WCAG 1.4.10 Reflow (AA).
  • Across the platform there are several uses of "here" links or full URL links which are not as descriptive for users. This fails WCAG 2.4.4 Link Purpose (In Context) (A).

Document Issues

  • Some documents include images without appropriate alt text descriptions. This fails WCAG 1.1.1 Non-text Content (A).
  • Some documents do not have any accessibility tags. This fails WCAG 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (A).
  • Some documents contain bulleted or numbered lists that are not structured correctly. This fails WCAG 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (A).
  • Some documents contain tables that are not structured correctly. This fails WCAG 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (A).
  • Some documents are missing required heading structure. This fails WCAG 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (A).
  • Some longer documents are missing required bookmarks. This fails WCAG 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (A).
  • Some documents contain text that does not meet contrast requirements. This fails WCAG 1.4.3 Contrast Minimum (AA).
  • Some documents do not have human readable document titles in the document properties. This fails WCAG 2.4.2 Page Titled (A).
  • Some documents do not have a primary language set. This fails WCAG 3.1.1 Language of Page (A).
    • Some documents contain content that is not tagged correctly for instance paragraphs that are tagged as headings or problems with table elements, or incorrect tags carried over from inaccessible exports. This fails WCAG 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value (A).

If you find an issue that we have yet to identify, please contact us using one of the routes described in the ‘Feedback and contact information’ section of this statement.

Disproportionate burden

At this time, we have made no claims of disproportionate burden.

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

PDFs and other documents

Some of our PDFs and Word documents are essential to providing information on our services. For example, we have PDFs with important information about the Business Plan. Some of these PDFs may not be fully accessible. We are currently working on fixing these documents. If you identify a document you cannot access in an accessible format please contact us using one the routes described in the ‘Feedback and contact information’ section of this statement.

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.

Published Extranets

https://egs.hblb.org.uk

This extranet was published before 23 September 2019 and so falls outside of the current regulations. This system is currently undergoing replacement and decommissioning through the introduction of a new Grants Management System, which is expected to be in use by the Autumn.

What we're doing to improve accessibility

HBLB is doing the following to improve accessibility:

  • Placing accessibility at the core of the upcoming website review project in 2026/2027.
  • Making use of the Government Design System in bespoke software.
  • Delivering awareness programmes to staff, which includes use of tools to help make content more accessible.
  • Aiming to reserve budget annually to fund accessibility audits, with a view to continuous improvement.
  • Working to include accessibility in new service contracts.
  • Identify key content owners and empowering them to deliver accessible content.
  • Provide in-depth specialist training, subject to budget, to upskill key content owners.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 31st July 2026. It was last reviewed on 3rd August 2026.

This website was last tested on 22nd June 2026 against the WCAG 2.2 standard. The test was carried out by All Able Ltd.

A representative sample of pages of the website were tested in detail along with a sample of the documents from each area of the website. Testing was composed of a mixture of manual, semi-automated and assistive technology testing.

All pages of the website were also tested using automated testing tools.

Last Updated: 03 August 2026