Accessibility at Scale for Welsh Councils
The Situation
The Welsh Local Government Association represents and supports the 22 local authorities across Wales. As the body responsible for helping councils improve how they deliver services to the public, the WLGA recognised that digital accessibility had become one of the most pressing and least consistently addressed challenges across its member organisations. Councils were building and procuring digital services without a shared standard, a common methodology or the internal expertise to assess whether those services were genuinely accessible to all users — including the most vulnerable people local government exists to serve.
The Problem
Accessibility was being treated as a compliance exercise rather than a quality standard. Councils were producing accessibility statements and running basic checks, but the underlying services still contained significant barriers for users relying on assistive technologies or accessing services in difficult circumstances. There was no consistent toolkit, no shared language and no sustainable way for councils to assess and improve accessibility independently. The WLGA needed an approach that would not just identify the problems — it needed something that member councils could actually use, apply and build on long after the initial engagement ended.
What We Did
BlueBow was engaged to design and deliver an accessible usability toolkit that could be adopted across all 22 Welsh councils. Our work included:
A comprehensive accessibility audit of representative council digital services — assessing compliance against WCAG 2.2 AA criteria and identifying issues by severity and user impact
Assistive technology testing using screen readers, voice control software and magnification tools to understand the real experience of users with access needs
Synthesis of audit findings into a prioritised, actionable remediation framework that councils could apply to their own services
Design and development of a practical usability toolkit — including assessment templates, guidance documentation and worked examples — tailored to the capacity and capability of local government teams
Training sessions delivered to digital and communications teams across member councils to build confidence and internal capability
A final review and validation process ensuring the toolkit was fit for purpose and ready for adoption at scale
The engagement has been ongoing, reflecting the scale and complexity of the programme and the sustained research investment required to support transformation at this level.
The Outcome
The toolkit delivered a measurable and sustained improvement in accessibility standards across Welsh local government. Accessibility errors across audited services were reduced by 85% following remediation guided by the toolkit. More significantly, the toolkit itself has remained in active use across all 22 Welsh councils since delivery — meaning the impact of the engagement has continued to grow beyond the initial project scope.
Council teams that previously lacked the confidence or methodology to assess their own services now have a practical, reusable framework they can apply independently. The WLGA has a shared accessibility standard it can point member councils to, and a body of evidence demonstrating the difference it has made.
BlueBow demonstrated a deep understanding of our organisation and the needs of our member councils. Their rigorous research and accessible design approach delivered measurable improvements across Welsh local authority digital services. The toolkit they produced has become a practical reference used by councils across Wales.
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