UK Government Asks Businesses to Make Digital Services Accessible

If a password reset, ID check or checkout page has ever made you give up, this story is about that. On 17 July 2026, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, alongside Baroness Lloyd of Effra CBE and Emma Hardy MP, published two open letters asking business leaders and the financial sector to work with government to make essential digital services easier to use, more accessible and less exclusionary. (gov.uk) It may sound like a narrow policy move, but the letters are about everyday life. The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology points to the services people use to manage money, pay bills, travel and keep up with news, arguing that digital access now shapes whether people can take part fully in society and the economy. (gov.uk)

This is the key point to hold on to: digital exclusion does not only happen when someone has no device or no internet connection. In the industry letter, the department says around 27% of UK adults are 'narrow internet users' and around 43% ask someone else to do something for them online. That tells you many people are technically online, but still struggle when websites are confusing, forms are badly laid out or support disappears at the moment it is needed most. (gov.uk) The letter goes further by saying that complex and inconsistent online services can weaken trust and push people away from digital systems altogether. For readers, that is an important shift in how to think about the issue: poor design is not a minor annoyance, because it can become a barrier to taking part in modern life. (gov.uk)

The government's immediate ask is simple to describe, even if it will be harder to deliver. Ministers are inviting businesses to work with them to improve the accessibility, usability and reliability of essential digital services. In the wider Digital Inclusion Action Plan, the same department proposes an industry pledge under which public-facing platforms should meet Web Content Accessibility Guidelines Level AA, including third-party products and services. (gov.uk) That matters because accessibility is often treated as something to add later, after a service has already been built. The action plan suggests a tougher standard: inclusive design should be part of the basic quality test, and businesses should be ready to show how their services measure up. (assets.publishing.service.gov.uk)

The separate letter to the financial sector adds a useful piece of context. The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology says banks and other financial firms have already invested in inclusive design, accessibility testing, clearer service paths and better support for customers with complex needs or vulnerabilities, and that many organisations in the sector are now seen as leading practice. (gov.uk) Even so, the same letter says the wider economy still shows too much variation, with online services that are hard to use consistently and poor routes for help when something goes wrong. So this is not only a warning shot. It is also an attempt to pull lessons from stronger sectors and spread them more widely. (gov.uk)

These letters also sit inside a bigger government push on digital inclusion and digital ID. In June 2026, ministers said a new digital ID system should be inclusive, useful and trusted, created an independent advisory group, and began separate engagement with digital verification and financial services organisations. (gov.uk) A related consultation made the same promise many readers will care about most: existing ways of accessing public services would stay in place for people who prefer them. It also showed why ministers are so focused on modernising old systems, noting that the DVLA processes 45,000 letters a day, Defra uses 500 paper forms and HMRC handles 100,000 phone calls a day. (gov.uk)

What this means for you is more concrete than it first appears. If businesses act on these letters, the changes should show up in the small but important moments that decide whether a service works: clearer wording, fewer dead ends, stronger compatibility with assistive technology, easier identity checks and better help when a person gets stuck. That reading is partly an inference, but it follows the direction set out in the letters and in the Digital Inclusion Action Plan. (gov.uk) The same action plan also talks about expanding assisted digital support and working with local authorities, libraries, Jobcentre Plus and other trusted community partners. That is a reminder that good digital access is rarely just about screens. It is also about the people and places that help you use them with confidence. (assets.publishing.service.gov.uk)

There is a media-literacy lesson here as well. An open letter is not a new law, and this publication does not set out penalties or a full timetable. What it does do is make a public argument, praise some existing good practice and prepare the ground for future standards, evidence gathering and shared expectations between government and industry. (gov.uk) So the next step is not to ask whether the letter exists, but whether everyday services actually change. That is the test worth watching, because digital inclusion only becomes real when people can complete the task in front of them without confusion, delay or having to ask someone else to step in. (gov.uk)