What impact does WCAG 2.2 have?
WCAG 2.2 was released on 5th October 2023. The guidelines included in the previous version of WCAG (2.1) are still in effect, while 9 new success criteria have been added. Six of the new criteria are at A and AA conformance level, which means they must be adhered to by law.
The six new A and AA success criteria (SC) in WCAG 2.2
- SC 2.4.1 Focus Not Obscured (AA)
- SC 2.5.7 Dragging Movements (AA)
- SC 2.5.8, Target Size (AA)
- SC 3.2.6 Consistent Help (A)
- SC 3.3.7 Redundant Entry (A)
- SC 3.3.8, Accessible Authentication (AA)
What do you need to do?
As a site or platform owner you need to test your site against the 6 criteria and update your accessibility statement.
When do I need to have this in place?
The six new criteria are expected from 5th October 2023, however inspections are to be expected from October 2024.
The Government Digital Service (GDS) is working on how to assess the new success criteria in WCAG 2.2 and will start monitoring for the extra criteria in October 2024. Until October 2024 we will monitor accessibility of websites and apps to WCAG 2.1 level AA.
What if I have not yet tested for the new criteria?
If you have a plan to test for WCAG 2.2 but have not yet carried this out, you can update your WCAG 2.1 accessibility statement to let assistive technology users know that you are in the process of addressing the new criteria.
Compliance Status
This website is currently partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 AA standard, as indicated by the non-compliances and exemptions listed below.
We are also aware that WCAG 2.2 has introduced new success criteria for accessibility, and we are actively working towards achieving full compliance by testing our web pages and content against the new checkpoints.
Find out more about WCAG 2.2
A good place to start, What’s new in WCAG 2.2 from the W3C Web Accessibility Initiative
The Sample Accessibility Statement from GOV.Uk is the template we use for accessibility statements at City.
The UK Gov site service manual, Understanding WCAG2.2 Level AA