NHS England » Equality Delivery System 2022

NHS England » Blogs

NHS England » Claire Murdoch

NHS England » Dr Neil Churchill

NHS England » Dementia

NHS England » Professor Bola Owolabi

NHS England » Our board members’ register of interests

NHS England » Care Quality Commission

NHS England » Emergency Care Data Set (ECDS)

NHS England » The Health Innovation Network

All interactive components on a page, such as buttons or menus, should be far enough apart 
from other interactive areas, to avoid them being used by mistake. 

This ensures people with motor impairments can easily click or tap on the right element.

## How to fix

* Ensure all interactive elements are at least 24 CSS pixels wide and tall
* OR ensure there is at least 24 CSS pixels (minus the width and height of the element)
  between each interactive element

## Methodology

This check is run on both the mobile and desktop versions of every page. Results
for each may differ.

1. All interactive elements are identified, including buttons, links, and form controls.
2. If an element is not normally visible, it is ignored. This includes elements which
   are positioned offscreen or cropped (e.g. for 'screen-reader only' text).
3. If an element is larger than 24 CSS pixels in both dimensions, it passes.
4. Otherwise, the element is compared to all other elements on the page.
5. The minimum horizontal gap between the element is calculated as 24 CSS pixels,  
   minus the width of the element.
6. The minimum vertical gap between the element is calculated as 24 CSS pixels,  
   minus the height of the element.
7. If another element falls within the minimum horizontal or vertical gap, the 
   element fails, unless both are links that point to the same place.

## Further reading

* [Target Size (Minimum)](https://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG22/Understanding/target-size-minimum.html)
* [Technique C42 - Using min-height and min-width to ensure sufficient target spacing](https://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG22/Techniques/css/C42)

ensure-minimum-target-size

September 2025

August 2025

NHS England & NHS Improvement

	Title / URL	Issues
	NHS England » Equality Delivery System 2022www.england.nhs.uk/about/equality/equality-hub/patient-equalities-programme/equality-frameworks-and-information-standards/eds/	23
	NHS England » Blogswww.england.nhs.uk/blogs/	18
	NHS England » Claire Murdochwww.england.nhs.uk/author/claire-murdoch/	18
	NHS England » Dr Neil Churchillwww.england.nhs.uk/author/dr-neil-churchill/	18
	NHS England » Dementiawww.england.nhs.uk/mental-health/dementia/	17
	NHS England » Professor Bola Owolabiwww.england.nhs.uk/author/dr-bola-owolabi/	16
	NHS England » Our board members’ register of interestswww.england.nhs.uk/publication/our-board-members-register-of-interests/	16
	NHS England » Care Quality Commissionwww.england.nhs.uk/ourwork/part-rel/cqc/	15
	NHS England » Emergency Care Data Set (ECDS)www.england.nhs.uk/ourwork/tsd/ec-data-set/	15
	NHS England » The Health Innovation Networkwww.england.nhs.uk/ourwork/part-rel/healthinnovationnetwork/	15

Ensure interactive components are far enough apart

NHS England & NHS Improvement

Where this issue has occurred