The DTI Website Fiasco
August 24, 2006 | Filed Under Geek, Politics, Rant | 2 Comments
Bruce Lawson and Dan Champion have been waging a campaign to get the DTI to answer questions as to why their new website which was built to a cost of £175,000 over a three year period didn’t meet the requirements of the DDA.
They asked people to write to their MP’s and raise the issue.
So I did.
I received this today from Meg Munn MP for Sheffield Heeley
Dear Mr Barter
Futher to your concerns over the DTI website, Please find enclosed a copy of the letter I have recieved from the Minister, addressing your concerns and outlining the current position, I hope this helps address your concerns, If I can be of further assistance please do not hesitate to contact me.
The letter from the DTI
Dear Meg
Thank-you for your letter of 27th of July to Margaret Hodge, enclosing correspondence from your constituant Mr Jim Barter of [address deleted] about the new DTI website, I am replying on behalf of Alistair Darling in my capacity as Duty Minister
The project to launch a consistantly branded, usable website and implement a Content management System took place over a three year period. The requirement for the new website to comply with Level AA of the W3C’s Web Content Accessibility Guidelines did appear in the original Invitation to Tender. It is regrettable that at the end of a long and complex phase of delivery of the project, this element was lost.
The Department does recognise the importance of ensuring our web content is accessible to all. We acknowledge that there are some accessibility issues with the new website. An accessibility audit of the site has been commisioned, to identify where the site fails to comply with relevant standards. The recommendations will be used to ensure, subject to cost and available resources, the site meets Level A of the W3C’s WCAG as laid down in the guidlines for UK Government Websites as soon as practicable and Level AA in the longer term.
Despite the acknowledged accessibilty issues, we can confirm the new website is being used on a daily basis by a member of the DTI staff who uses the Supernova speech and magnification system (V6.5). This assistive technology does allow users with visual impairments to navigate the website and access the content of the pages. This demonstrates the new DTI website does not ‘lock-out’ all users with disabilities.
It is not appropriate for us to comment on the Freedom of Information (FOI) issues raised by your constituant. An internal review of the decision taken by the DTI not to respond to the follow up FOI requests is currently underway.
Malcom Wicks, Duty Minister
…to be continued.