SortSite flags removal of focus outline from disabled buttons

[36degrees]

Description of the issue

SortSite flags the way we remove the outline from the focus state of disabled button as a potential issue:

The CSS outline or border style on this element makes it difficult or impossible to see the dotted link focus outline.
Change the style to avoid obscuring the focus outline around focusable elements.
Using a border or outline style that obscures the focus ring causes problems for keyboard-only users in:

• Chrome (obscures the focus indicator on links, buttons, dropdowns and range controls)
• Firefox (obscures the focus indicator on links)
• Internet Explorer (obscures the focus indicator on links, buttons and range controls)
• Internet Explorer does not support the outline-offset: property, so using this does not reliably avoid focus outline overlap.

Line 375 WCAG 2.1 AA F78 Section 508 (2017) AA F78

375: .govuk-button--disabled:focus,.govuk-button[disabled="disabled"]:focus,.govuk-button[disabled]:focus{outline:none}

When the disabled attributed is used on a <button> the button should no longer be focusable, so I don't think this would be an issue.

However, if the govuk-button--disabled class is used on a link this could be problematic as the link might still be focusable but the focus indicator would not be visible.