Disproportionate Burden Assessment

We are committed to making the content on this website as accessible as possible. However, we have assessed that ensuring every document published on our website meets full accessibility standards would place a disproportionate burden on the Trust.

Scope of this assessment

This assessment applies to documents that are:

  • In PDF, Excel or Word format
  • Not essential to patient care or the provision of our services

Examples include:

  • Annual reports and accounts
  • Public board papers
  • Declarations of interest
  • Strategies, plans and performance reports

These documents may not consistently meet accessibility standards such as:

•    Use of non-text content
•    Clear structure and reading order
•    Sufficient colour contrast
•    Proper use of headings and labels

Why this is a disproportionate burden

We believe converting all such documents into fully accessible HTML pages would be a disproportionate burden because:

  • Many documents are compiled by multiple teams shortly before legal publication deadlines.
  • Retrospective conversion would require significant staff time, technical expertise, and formal approval processes.
  • Some documents contain complex tables, graphs and financial data that are difficult to convert accessibly.
  • Demand for accessible versions of these documents is currently very low — we have received no requests to date.

Our commitment to accessibility

We will always ensure that:

  • Documents essential to patient care are published in accessible formats, including HTML.
  • Easy Read versions are available where appropriate, even if they do not meet all digital accessibility standards due to layout requirements.
  • Accessible versions of any document are provided on request — please email communications@cntw.nhs.uk.

We are also:

  • Delivering accessibility training across the Trust
  • Reinforcing guidance for staff who create documents
  • Making incremental improvements to new versions of documents

You can read more about our plans in our Accessibility Roadmap.