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For public bodies and transport partnerships
Accessible, UK-hosted services built to pass your compliance review
Web and mobile apps built to WCAG 2.2 AA, with personal data hosted in the UK. For SEStran, we built the system behind Thistle Assistance, which now has 10,000+ cardholders. Admin per card order went from minutes to seconds, and health data is encrypted and deleted on schedule, with a full audit trail.
A free 30-minute call. No sales team: you'll talk to Blair, the engineer who'd lead your project.
- Built to WCAG 2.2 AA
- UK-hosted personal data
- DPA on request
- First release sized for a quick quote
- Professional indemnity and public liability insurance
- You own the code
The situation
What gets in the way
Accessibility regulations
Public sector websites and apps must meet WCAG 2.2 AA and publish an accessibility statement.
Sensitive data in spreadsheets
Health and personal details kept in files are hard to secure and harder to audit.
Procurement and audit
You need a supplier you can buy from simply, and records that show where data is held, who can see it and when it's deleted.
How we help
What we do about it
WCAG 2.2 AA, checked as we build
Accessibility is designed in and tested before release. On Compass, automated WCAG 2.2 AA tests run on every release. Its redesigned pages use text of at least 18px and targets of at least 44px, and layouts were checked at 400% zoom. We'll help you prepare your accessibility statement.
UK-hosted and encrypted
Personal data is hosted in the UK and encrypted at rest and in transit.
Retention and audit trail
Retention schedules, automatic deletion and a full audit trail. Health data, as special category data under UK GDPR, gets the strongest safeguards.
Physical and digital options
Thistle Assistance cardholders can choose a physical card or the app, so nobody is shut out by the technology.
Fewer manual steps
Card orders that were processed one at a time now go into automatic weekly print batches, and applicants get email updates.
Insight for planning
Regional data shows where demand is highest, to guide where a service expands next.
Web apps, mobile apps, integrations and hosting: see what we build.
The regulations, in plain terms
Who has to meet WCAG 2.2 AA
Public sector bodies must make their websites and mobile apps meet WCAG 2.2 AA and publish an accessibility statement explaining how accessible they are.
Charities and other non-government organisations are exempt, unless they're mostly financed by public funding, provide services that are essential to the public, or provide services aimed at disabled people. Many partners in public services fall into one of those groups.
Read the GOV.UK guidance (opens in a new tab)- How do we buy a first release?
- We can shape a first release to suit your quick quote process, then contract ongoing support separately.
- Are you insured?
- Yes. We hold professional indemnity and public liability insurance, and can send certificates on request.
- Will you sign a data processing agreement?
- Yes. A data processing agreement is available on request, and personal data is hosted in the UK.
- Who writes and checks the code?
- Blair agrees with you what gets built, makes the technical and security decisions, and reviews and signs off every change before it goes live. How the code gets written depends on the project: some of our clients' software is written entirely by hand, and on others AI coding tools write code to the brief Blair has agreed with you. Either way, automated tests check each change before his review. The AI tools we use never see personal data from your service: they have no access to its live databases, and logs are anonymised. Every AI service we use to write, review and check code processes it in the EU, on business or API terms that don't allow training on it. If your organisation has an AI policy or a list of approved tools, we'll work within it.
- Who owns the code?
- You do. Once it's paid for, the code and intellectual property are yours.
- What happens if WheelHouse can't carry on?
- We build with standard, widely used tools, so another developer could pick up your service. The contract sets out how we'd hand over the code and everything needed to run it.
“Working with Blair at WheelHouse Software on the Thistle Assistance programme has been a very positive experience. … We would be very happy to work with Blair and WheelHouse Software again.”
Sarah J
Communications and Marketing Officer, SEStran
See it in action
Related case studies
SEStran
Thistle Assistance Admin
Admin per card order dropped from minutes to seconds. Health data is UK-hosted, encrypted and deleted on schedule, with a full audit trail.
10,000+ disabled people travelling with Thistle Assistance
ARC Scotland
Compass
A free planner that turns leaving school into a timeline of what to do and when, with a version for young people, parents and carers, and professionals.
1,000+ families using Compass within seven months of launch
Neatebox
Button
People with limited mobility or sight no longer have to find and reach a physical button. One app for iOS and Android kept costs low for a social enterprise.
1 tap to open a door or start a crossing
Talk through your plans
Tell us what you want to create or improve, and who it would help. You'll talk to the engineer who'd lead your project, with no obligation.