Accessibility statement

Our commitment

Inclusivity is one of the seven SOMES code values. That commitment applies to this website as much as to our evaluations. We aim to conform to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 at Level AA.

What we have built in

• Contrast: text meets the 4.5:1 ratio required at Level AA, and a high-contrast mode is available from the toggle in the top bar of every page.
• Keyboard: every interactive element can be reached and operated by keyboard alone, with a visible focus indicator and a skip-to-content link.
• Screen readers: semantic headings, landmark regions, descriptive link text, form labels tied to inputs, and ARIA states on menus, accordions and tabs.
• Text: the site reflows without horizontal scrolling at 320px width and remains usable at 200 per cent zoom. Nothing depends on colour alone to convey meaning.
• Images: alternative text on informative images; decorative graphics are hidden from assistive technology.
• Motion: animations respect the reduced-motion setting in your operating system, and no content flashes.
• Language: each page declares its language, and Arabic renders right-to-left with correct directionality.
• Forms: errors are described in text next to the field and announced to assistive technology, not signalled by colour alone.

Low bandwidth and older devices

Many members work from locations with intermittent connectivity. Pages are kept small, resources can be downloaded for offline use, previously visited pages are cached, and the site works without JavaScript for reading content — scripts add interaction, not access to information.

Known limitations

• Some downloadable documents inherited from partners are not yet tagged for screen readers. We are remediating these and will provide an accessible version on request.
• Video recordings in the archive do not all carry captions yet. Captioning is being added, starting with the most-viewed items.
• Complex data tables in the open data portal are best used with a screen reader in table navigation mode.

Tell us

If you meet a barrier on this site, contact info@somes.so or use the contact form and select the accessibility topic. Describe the page and what happened. We aim to acknowledge within one working day and to provide the information you needed in an accessible format meanwhile.