Oxford Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Strategy 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 Oxford Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Strategy document which is in PDF format.

• A fully accessible HTML version would improve usability for screen readers and assistive technologies
• It would allow easier navigation, searching, and indexing of the document
• It would support inclusive access for all users, particularly those with visual impairments or cognitive disabilities

• The document is lengthy and complex, containing multiple tables, diagrams, and structured formatting that would require significant manual reworking to meet full accessibility standards or conversion into HTML - we estimate that it would take about 5 working days to make this PDF fully accessible 
• The conversion would require specialist input to ensure that technical content (e.g., infrastructure maps, policy tables) is accurately and accessibly represented
• The document was produced externally (by Urban Foresight), and reformatting would require permissions and potentially incur additional costs
• The document is static and not regularly updated, meaning the investment in accessibility improvements would not benefit a frequently used or evolving resource

• The document is legally required to be published, but not necessarily in HTML format
• Interest in the document is relatively low and targeted - primarily professionals and stakeholders familiar with PDF formats
• The current PDF meets basic accessibility standards (e.g., tagged text, readable structure) for most users
• The Council offers alternative formats on request and supports users with accessibility needs

Oxford City Council is committed to supporting accessibility and will respond to all requests for alternative formats.

However, due to the complexity, cost, and limited demand, converting the Oxford Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Strategy into a fully accessible format would impose a disproportionate burden at this time.

4 August 2025