Accessibility statement for the Apply for BICS (British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme) digital service
This accessibility statement applies to the Apply for BICS digital service available at https://apply-for-bics.service.gov.uk/ .
This website is run by the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade (BIST). We want as many people as possible to be able to use this website. For example, that means you should be able to:
- change colours, contrast levels and fonts using browser or device settings
- zoom in up to 400% without the text spilling off the screen
- navigate most of the website using a keyboard or speech recognition software
- listen to most of the website using a screen reader, including the latest versions of JAWS, NVDA and VoiceOver
We’ve also made the website text as simple as possible to understand.
AbilityNet has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability.
Feedback and contact information
If you find any problems not listed on this page or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, contact:
If you need information on this website in a different format, such as accessible PDF or large print:
We’ll consider your request and get back to you in 5 working days.
Enforcement procedure
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is responsible for enforcing the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018. If you’re not happy with how we respond to your complaint, contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS) .
Technical information about this website's accessibility
The Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade is committed to making its website accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.
Compliance status
This website has been tested against the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 standard.
This website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.2 standard, due to the non-compliances and exemptions listed below.
| Page title | Issue description | WCAG reference |
|---|---|---|
| What is your relationship to this company? | When first accessing the page, screen reader focus automatically begins after the breadcrumb trail on the page. This means that screen reader users are not able to navigate the page from the start of page content and are instead placed in a location that is not the start of the page without prior indication that this will happen. As a result, this is disorientating for users, as they would expect their focus to begin at the start and to navigate content sequentially, only skipping navigational content if they interact with the ‘Skip to main content’ link. | 2.4.3 Focus Order (Level A) |
| How many people does this company currently employ? | The fieldset present to group the form fields has not been assigned the required <legend> to enable screen reader users to determine the relationships between grouped content. | 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (Level A) |
| How is electricity paid for at this site? | The radio buttons on the page are visually shown as grouped under the heading; however, the fieldset and legend implemented does not contain the radio button elements. This means that the grouping does not persist for screen reader users. | 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (Level A) |
| Upload production evidence | When adding multiple products, the content is not grouped in a way that informs screen reader users of the purpose for these elements. This means that screen reader users are required to navigate surrounding content in order to understand the purpose of these checkbox elements. | 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (Level A) |
| Added meters | The visual heading structure of ‘MPAN (Meter Point Administration Number)’ being used to introduce the subhead of ‘MPAN: 1234567890123’ is not maintained within the programmatic mark-up of headings on the page. This means that screen reader users are not provided the same navigational experience that sighted users are afforded through visual styling. | |
| Shared MPANs |
There is a file upload section that does not inform users of the accepted file type prior to users attempting to upload a file. Where there are specific rules for correct input, additional instructions need to accompany the field to prevent users from encountering unnecessary errors and needing to navigate once more through a page or form in order to fix submission errors. In this instance, despite there being a clear restriction on what file type can be uploaded, this is not provided to users when they first encounter the page, so they have no means of avoiding committing an error. |
3.3.2 Labels or Instructions (Level A) |
| Apply for BICS | When moving from the task page to the application submitted page, the page title does not update to reflect this change. This means that screen reader users are not accurately informed that they are placed on a new page and may believe their submission was unsuccessful. | 2.4.2 Page Titled (Level A) |
There were no non-conformance issues found at AA-level.
Preparation of this accessibility statement
This statement was prepared on 29 September 2026.
This website was last tested between 14 September 2026 and 22 September 2026 against the WCAG 2.2 standard.
The test was carried out by Digital Accessibility Centre against the WCAG 2.2 standard as an accessibility audit. Their report identified areas of non-conformance. Work is yet to be planned to remediate all the non-conformance areas listed in their report.