Asylum Welcome Local Authority of Sanctuary Needs Assessment Report document - Disproportionate burden assessments for digital accessibility

Accessibility legislation (on legislation.gov.uk website) states that public sector websites must publish content in an accessible format, unless doing so would impose a disproportionate burden on the organisation. If that is the case, an assessment of the extent to which compliance with the accessibility requirement imposes a disproportionate burden must be carried out.

This is a Disproportionate Burden Assessment for the Asylum Welcome Local Authority of Sanctuary Needs Assessment Report document which is in PDF format.

The benefits of creating an HTML version of this PDF would be:

• a fully accessible version for all users to access
• an easily searchable and indexable version

The burden of making the original Asylum Welcome Local Authority of Sanctuary Needs Assessment Report accessible using the City Council’s current criteria is considered disproportionate.

The task would take an estimated 2 to 3 working days at least. This is a significant demand on already time-pressured, part-time staff who would need additional time to apply the technical specifications required for accessibility.

Furthermore, the report was completed in early 2024 based on research from late 2023, and it has already fulfilled its core function in informing the Council of Sanctuary framework and three-year action plan. The Council’s scrutiny committee in January 2025 directed that the current report is published onto the Council's website - this action needs to be expedited as it is overdue.

In addition, a more relevant, up-to-date and accessible version of the assessment is currently being produced by partner organisation - Asylum Welcome. This version is being designed to fully meet the City Council's updated accessibility standards and will include key updates that reflect changes since the original research was conducted.

Crucially, it will also be tailored specifically to the accessibility needs of refugees and vulnerable migrants

Given this, publishing the original version would not only duplicate effort but may also risk confusion, making the burden of updating it further unjustified.

Also relevant to this decision are that:

• Due to the nature of this content and the time it has taken to get full approval for its publication, there is a need to publish the document quickly as detailed above, so we have taken the decision to publish the PDF as a temporary measure until the shortened, up to date accessible version is ready
• Interest in the document is low - only a small number of local VCS colleagues have requested access to it, and we have already shared it with them.
• The document is from a third-party source or organisation (Asylum Welcome)

The original needs assessment, based on research conducted in late 2023 and submitted in early 2024, is now considered outdated, having already served its purpose in shaping the Council of Sanctuary framework and action plan.

Updating it to meet current City Council accessibility standards would require at least 2 to 3 working days - an unreasonable use of limited staff capacity given its low demand, outdated content, and the imminent release of a new, shorter, and fully accessible version.

This new version, currently being developed, will reflect key updates and be tailored specifically to the needs of refugees and vulnerable migrants, fully aligned with the Council’s latest accessibility requirements.

To minimise duplication and confusion, the original assessment will be published in its current form for transparency but will be replaced with the improved accessible version as soon as it is available.

In the meantime, should any information from the original be requested, we are happy to provide it in an accessible text format.

14 May 2025