Accessibility statement

1. Commitment and current status

Scout Atlas Limited ("the Company") wants the Scout Agency website to be usable by as many people as possible, including people with visual, motor, hearing or cognitive disabilities. It aims to meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 at level AA. The site has not been audited in full against WCAG 2.2 AA and has not been tested by hand with screen readers or other assistive technology, so the Company does not claim conformance. This statement says what has been checked and what is known to be wrong. It is not a legal guarantee.

2. What has been checked

These checks were run against this site while it was built. They are not a substitute for a full audit.

• Automated checks with axe-core, set to the WCAG 2.0, 2.1 and 2.2 A and AA rules, on every page, at a desktop width and a phone width, in Chromium and, for phone widths, in the WebKit engine used by iPhones. They were run again on 5 November 2026 on 13 pages, at 1440 and 390 pixels wide, in the dark and light themes, and found no violations on the pages at rest.
• A script that checks the contrast of the colour pairs used for text, links, controls and focus rings, in both themes.
• Keyboard checks, run as automated tests, of the skip link, the loading sequence Skip button, the main navigation and menu, the command palette, the call booking calendar, the enquiry form and the questions and answers on the home page. They cover tab order, the arrow, enter, space and escape keys, and where focus lands.
• Checks with the reduced-motion setting turned on, to confirm that content is shown without movement.
• A review on 31 October 2026 that also looked at reflow at 320 pixels wide, text spacing, target size, pages with JavaScript off and the order of focus.

The same layout and loading sequence were run in emulated iPhone, Android phone, tablet and desktop Safari engine profiles on 3 November 2026, checking that nothing scrolls sideways and that every page has one main heading. Not yet done: testing by hand with screen readers or other assistive technology, any testing in Firefox, testing on a real iPhone or Android phone, and an independent audit.

3. Motion and animation

The site uses animation. A short loading sequence plays on the first visit in a browser session. It waits for the visitor to press a button before the home page opens, and it has a Skip button. Page sections animate into view as a visitor scrolls. On larger screens a decorative drawing in the opening section responds to the pointer and, on capable devices, runs as a WebGL scene. On desktop pointers the page uses smooth scrolling. The main heading is real text, and carries its full text for assistive technology while one word animates. Anyone whose device or browser is set to reduce motion sees the final state of each effect without movement and does not see the loading sequence. This setting is under "Reduce motion" or similar in the accessibility settings of Windows, macOS, iOS and Android, and most browsers respect it. The site does not yet have its own on-page control for motion.

4. Known limitations

These were known on the date of this statement.

• Not every part of the site has been tested by hand with a screen reader, so announcements of animated parts and of custom controls (the command palette, the booking calendar and the theme switch) may not be as clear as they should be.
• The close button of the command palette is labelled "Close command palette" but shows only the text "Esc". A voice control user who says the visible text may not activate it (WCAG 2.5.3). The Esc key closes the palette.
• When the command palette search matches nothing, the empty list may be marked up as a list with no options. A "no results" message is shown and announced. This was found on 31 October 2026 and has not been re-tested.
• On the enquiry form, an invalid email address can show an error line that moves the Send button as the field loses focus, which can make a first click miss. Sending with the keyboard works. This was found on 31 October 2026 and has not been re-tested.
• The decorative drawings, the sample product screens and the terminal-style loading sequence are not designed to be read by assistive technology. The facts they illustrate are also given as plain text on the page, and the sample screens are labelled as sample data.
• The booking and enquiry forms need JavaScript. Without it, the pages show a note and the Company's email address.
• Automated tools find only part of the problems that affect real users. Other limitations may exist that these checks cannot see.

The Company will update this list as issues are found and fixed, and after the full audit it intends to commission.

5. For public sector and other buyers

The Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018 apply to public sector bodies. They do not apply to the Company, which is a private company, and this statement is not written under them. The Company still has duties as a service provider under the Equality Act 2010, including to make reasonable adjustments.

A public sector body that buys from the Company has duties of its own for the websites and apps it runs. To help, the Company builds bespoke work for a public sector client to WCAG 2.2 level AA unless the statement of work says otherwise, checks its product interfaces against the same standard before each release, and will give the information a client reasonably needs for its own accessibility statement. The agreement, not this page, sets what is promised for a particular piece of work.

6. Reporting a problem or asking for another format

If part of this website is hard to use, or you need its content in another format such as plain text, large print or one that works with your assistive technology, email legal@scoutatlas.uk, write to Scout Atlas Limited, 1 Armstrong House, High Street, Uxbridge, UB8 1GJ, or use the enquiry form. The Company aims to acknowledge a report within five working days, say what it intends to do, and fix a genuine accessibility problem within 20 working days or explain why it will take longer.

7. If you are not satisfied

Tell the Company first, so that it can put things right. If you are an individual and are not satisfied with the reply, the Equality Advisory and Support Service (equalityadvisoryservice.com, freephone 0808 800 0082) gives free advice on your rights under the Equality Act 2010. It is for individuals, and does not advise businesses. The public sector accessibility enforcement process, run by the Equality and Human Rights Commission, covers public sector websites and does not apply to this site.

8. How this statement was prepared

It was prepared on 31 October 2026 and updated on 3 and 5 November 2026 from the checks in clause 2. The site relies on HTML, CSS, JavaScript, SVG and, on some devices, WebGL, and is built to work with assistive technology that supports those standards.

9. Changes to this statement

The Company may update this statement, including after a fresh audit. The effective date at the top shows when it last changed.