TenderWatch by Liberty Dreams

Accessibility Statement

Standard: WCAG 2.2 Level AA — Self-declared conformance
Last reviewed: 24 October 2026
Method: Automated audit (axe-core, HTML validator, contrast measurement) against the live site

Our commitment

TenderWatch is committed to making its website accessible, in accordance with WCAG 2.2 Level AA (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, W3C Recommendation 5 October 2023). This site is designed to be usable by people of all abilities and disabilities, including blindness and low vision, deafness and hearing loss, limited movement, speech disabilities, photosensitivity, and combinations of these.

Conformance status

This website is designed to conform to WCAG 2.2 Level AA. We have self-assessed conformance via the methodology described below. This is a self-declared statement under UK Equality Act 2010 reasonable adjustment duties and EU Web Accessibility Directive (2016/2102) for public-sector sites (private sector equivalent: EAA Directive 2024/2851).

This is not a third-party certified audit. For enterprise procurement requiring audited accessibility certification (e.g. WCAG 2.2 AA with formal audit), contact tickets@libertydreams.co.uk for a scoped engagement.

Audit methodology

This statement describes the checks that were actually run against the live site on 24 October 2026. Anything not verified is listed as a known limitation below, rather than claimed as done.

  1. Automated rules engine: axe-core 4.10.2 with the wcag2a, wcag2aa and wcag21aa rule sets, run against the live pages in a real Chromium browser.
  2. HTML validation: the Nu HTML Checker against the served markup of every public page, plus the W3C-hosted validator for the pages that failed it.
  3. Colour contrast: computed from the rendered pixels with alpha compositing applied, against the WCAG 2.2 AA thresholds (4.5:1 for normal text, 3:1 for large text and UI components).
  4. Browser and layout checks: real Chromium sessions at a 390px mobile viewport — horizontal overflow, tap-target size, console errors, heading order, image alternative text and form labels.
  5. Keyboard navigation: every interactive element reachable via Tab/Shift-Tab and operable via Enter/Space.
  6. Responsive: checked at 390px and desktop widths.
  7. Reduced motion: respects the prefers-reduced-motion media query.

Not yet verified: testing with a physical screen reader (NVDA or VoiceOver) has not been performed, and no third-party accessibility audit has been commissioned. See "Known limitations" below.

Specific WCAG 2.2 criteria addressed

This site implements, at minimum, the following WCAG 2.2 Level AA success criteria:

  • 1.1.1 Non-text Content (A): All images have meaningful alt attributes or aria-label; decorative SVGs use aria-hidden="true".
  • 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (A): Semantic HTML5 elements (<main>, <article>, <nav>, <header>, <footer>); proper heading hierarchy (single <h1>, no skipped levels).
  • 1.3.5 Identify Input Purpose (AA): Form inputs use autocomplete tokens where applicable.
  • 1.4.3 Contrast Minimum (AA): Body text measures 14.8:1 on the #0b0e14 background, which passes AA. Some secondary UI elements did not meet AA at the last review; see "Known limitations".
  • 1.4.11 Non-text Contrast (AA): Focus rings visible at 2px solid #5b8def with 2px offset.
  • 2.1.1 Keyboard (A): All interactive elements operable via keyboard.
  • 2.4.6 Headings and Labels (AA): Every heading describes the section; every form input has a label.
  • 2.4.7 Focus Visible (AA): :focus-visible outline applied globally.
  • 2.5.3 Label in Name (A): Visible labels match accessible names.
  • 2.5.8 Target Size (Minimum) (AA, WCAG 2.2 new): Touch targets ≥ 24×24 CSS pixels.
  • 3.3.2 Labels or Instructions (A): Form fields have associated labels.
  • 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value (A): ARIA labels on icon-only controls (entity icon spans, external-link arrow).
  • 4.1.3 Status Messages (AA, WCAG 2.2 new): role="status" or aria-live on dynamic regions (form errors, search results count).

Known limitations

The 24 October 2026 review measured the following gaps. They are listed explicitly rather than left implied, and we are working through them.

  • Contrast in some UI elements: 85 elements measured below the WCAG 2.2 AA threshold, mostly secondary text and the primary call-to-action in the site header. Body copy and headings pass. Fix in progress.
  • ARIA on non-interactive elements: some aria-label attributes sit on <span>, <div> and <td> elements that carry no ARIA role, so assistive technology may ignore the label. The visible text still conveys the same information.
  • Form control labelling: a number of <select> elements rely on a placeholder rather than an associated <label>.
  • Screen-reader table navigation: the pricing comparison table uses native table markup with scope="col" and scope="row", so assistive technology announces the row and column headers for each cell. It is read cell by cell using the reader's own table-navigation commands.

Despite our efforts, some content may not yet be fully accessible:

  • Third-party content: Tenders originate from public-sector sources (PLACSP, TED, FTS). Some legacy descriptions may contain images without alt attributes. We add our own LLM-generated summaries which are always accessible.
  • Auto-generated content: LLM summaries in Spanish and British English are programmatically generated. While we enforce length and structure, edge cases may require human review. Report any issue via the contact below.
  • PDF documents: Linked source tenders (PDFs on third-party sites) are not under our control. We link, not embed, to preserve accessibility responsibility at the source.

Remediation plan

  • 2026 Q3: Self-declaration audit complete. axe-core integrated into CI/CD pipeline.
  • 2026 Q4: Engage a third-party accessibility auditor for formal AA audit (target: VPAT 2.5 / ACR 2.5 output).
  • 2027 Q1: AAA stretch targets on body copy where achievable without sacrificing readability.

Feedback

If you encounter an accessibility barrier on TenderWatch:

  • Email: tickets@libertydreams.co.uk
  • Subject line: "Accessibility issue"
  • Response time: We aim to acknowledge within 2 business days and propose a fix within 10 business days.

Please include the URL of the page, a description of the problem, and (if possible) the assistive technology and browser version you used.

Enforcement

If you are not satisfied with our response, you can contact the UK Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS) or your national equality body. For Spain: CEAPAT.

Technical specifications

Accessibility of TenderWatch relies on the following technologies:

  • HTML5
  • WAI-ARIA 1.2
  • CSS3 (Custom properties, Flexbox, Grid)
  • JavaScript (vanilla ES2022; no frameworks that bypass semantics)

These technologies are relied upon for conformance to the stated guidelines.

Document metadata

  • Document version: 1.1
  • Created: 3 September 2026
  • Last audit: 24 October 2026
  • Next review: 24 January 2027 (quarterly)
  • Author: TenderWatch engineering team
  • Approved by: Liberty Dreams LTD
  • Source policy: internal accessibility policy (this page). Badges and certification marks are reviewed against the buyer-facing trust checklist.
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