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Accessibility statement for Check your long term flood risk

This accessibility statement applies to the Check your long term flood risk service at check-long-term-flood-risk.service.gov.uk

This website is run by the Environment Agency. We want as many people as possible to be able to use this website. For example, that means that you should be able to:

  • use browser settings or plugins to change colours, contrast levels and fonts
  • use browser settings or other software to zoom in up to 400% 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.

AbilityNet has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability.

How accessible this website is

We know some parts of this website are not fully accessible. For example:

  • the mapping, and the tools that are part of it, are not accessible for those using assistive technology
  • in some situations, the contrast of colours on maps is not high enough to be legible to all users

Feedback and contact information

If you find any problems not listed on this page or think we're not meeting accessibility requirements, contact:

If you need information on this website in a different format like an accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille:

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

The Environment Agency 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 listed below.

Non-accessible content

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

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

These are the instances of non-compliance with WCAG 2.2 AA.

The requirement for WCAG 1.3.1 Information and relationships was not met because the:

  • flood risk sections are coded in a way that leaves out important markers that help screen readers understand the layout, some people using screen readers may find it hard to follow how the information is organised
  • visual layout of the 'What the flood risk ratings mean' section suggests relationships that aren't defined in the code, which may prevent assistive technology users from understanding the structure of the information
  • map radio buttons are coded and displayed in a way that makes them look like two separate choices instead of part of the same group, this can make it hard for some people to understand how the options are meant to relate to each other

The requirement for WCAG 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value was not met because the:

  • 'What the flood risk ratings mean' section uses a label in a way that doesn't work with the type of element it's on, it needs the right setup for the label to work properly
  • map area uses a label in a way that doesn't work with the type of element it's on, so the label won't function as intended
  • heading 'Surface water map' is inside an element that uses an invalid role, so assistive technology may not read it correctly
  • 'Zoom in' and 'Zoom out' buttons on the map are inside elements that aren't set up correctly, so assistive tools may not recognise them as proper controls

The requirement for WCAG 2.4.3 was not met because:

  • when the cookies panel appears on the map page, the tab order becomes confusing, some controls are set with higher tab index values, so keyboard focus jumps around in an unexpected order, which can be disorienting for keyboard users

The requirement for WCAG 1.4.10 Reflow was not met because:

  • when the page is zoomed in, some map content gets cut off or pushed out of view, like the 'Key' button and copyright text, as users can't scroll in both directions, people who rely on high magnification may struggle to see important information or controls

We will fix these in the following ways:

  • make sure the description lists use the correct tags or remove any that have caused confusion
  • make sure that any meaning shown by layout or styling is also clear in the code or written text
  • review the way we use labels on element components and amend or remove as necessary
  • we plan to carry out an investigation into the accessibility issues identified on our maps so we can understand what's happening and how to fix it

We will look to address these issues by December 2026.

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

The website has the following content which is out of scope of the accessibility regulations:

  • maps
  • third party content which is out of our control, for example a corporate logo on the map the website uses

What we're doing to improve accessibility

We are working to fix content that failed to meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.2 AA standard:

  • we have fixed 6 issues that failed to meet the WCAG version 2.2 A standard
  • we are working to fix all other content which fails to meet the WCAG version 2.2 AA standard and we will update this page when these issues are fixed
  • once we have fixed these issues, we will conduct usability testing with people with accessibility needs

Preparation of this accessibility statement

The original statement was prepared on 22 September 2020. It was last reviewed on 12 February 2026.

This website was last tested in January 2026 against the WCAG 2.2 AA standard. This test of the most viewed pages was carried out by the Digital Accessibility Centre (DAC).

We also used findings from our own testing when preparing this accessibility statement.