2.8 Conditionally revealed input is not persistent or announced (Positive)

2.8.1 WCAG 1.3.1 (A), 1.3.2 (A), 3.3.1 (A), 3.3.2 (A), 4.1.3 (AA) - Desktop

On the “Tell us more about debts” page, entering an amount in the “Other” field conditionally reveals a secondary input asking users to “Please tell us more about this debt”. This field functions as expected when the condition is first met, but the issues affecting accessibility arise if an error is detected in this secondary field.

If the user presses “Continue” without completing the secondary field, an error is raised: “Give us more information about this amount”. However, the secondary input is collapsed again, meaning users cannot see the field that requires attention. The field is only redisplayed if the user manually focuses and changes the value of the “Other” input, which is unexpected and unintuitive behaviour.

Furthermore, the error link in the summary does not activate or focus the hidden field, offering no clear guidance on where the issue is located. Users are not provided with an easy way to jump to the erroneous field, which could lead to them abandoning the form as it could appear that the page raises an error that they can’t fix.

Input field with conditionally revealed secondary field

FIGURE 2.12: Input field with conditionally revealed secondary field

Error message linking to invisible field

FIGURE 2.13: Error message linking to invisible field

2.8.2 Recommendation

Ensure that when a validation error is raised for a conditionally revealed field, the field remains visible on the page. Users should not be required to re-trigger the condition to see and correct the error.

Also provide a link to the erroneous field in the error summary link that scrolls to and focuses the relevant field, in line with GDS guidance on error messages.

2.8.3 Spot Check: February 2026

This issue has been resolved. The conditionally revealed field now remains visible when left empty, and the error is announced when it appears. The error summary link also correctly moves focus to the relevant field.

This has been updated from a ‘High’ severity issue to a ‘Positive’ finding.