MDDI's response to PQ on Ensuring High Traffic Government Websites Conform To WCAG

Parliament Sitting on 12 November 2024

QUESTION FOR WRITTEN ANSWER

25. Ms See Jinli Jean asked the Minister for Digital Development and Information (a) what is the Ministry’s present steps and future plans to train and involve the local creative practitioners in its goal of ensuring that all high traffic Government websites will conform to the international Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 at the AA level by 2030; and (b) how is the Ministry encouraging the adoption of such accessibility standards by digital spaces that are run by non-Governmental and private sector entities.

Answer:

The Government plans to make all high-traffic Government websites¹ accessible by 2030. To do this, we will engage and work with local design practitioners as needed. This includes getting feedback on the design of Government digital services and organising workshops and trainings for design professionals.

We agree that non-Government entities should also improve the accessibility of their digital services. The Government provides support in various ways. For example, the Government Technology Agency (GovTech) has developed the Oobee tool (previously known as Purple A11y), which is an open-source web accessibility testing tool. This is freely available for use. GovTech has also launched the Co-Creation Lab during the A11y week in May this year which brought together representatives from Government agencies, the private sector as well as community users to better understand accessibility-related challenges. The first run of the Co-Creation Lab brought together 95 representatives from the Government agencies and the private sector such as banks and e-commerce firms, as well as users from the senior and Person-with-Disabilities (PWDs) communities. This multi-stakeholder dialogue has enhanced product teams' understanding of diverse user needs, including those of PWDs and seniors, and yielded valuable insights that will directly inform the development of current and future digital services from both the public and private sectors.

We will continue to build on these efforts and engage with the private sector and community partners to raise awareness, facilitate knowledge sharing and encourage efforts to make non-Government digital services accessible to all Singaporeans.

¹ With one million visits per year