Skip to main content
Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs An Roinn Talmhaíochta, Comhshaoil agus Gnóthaí Tuaithe Depairtment o' Fairmin, Environment an' Kintra Matthers

Main navigation

  • Home
  • Topics
  • Publications
  • Consultations
  • Contact

Translation help

Translate this page

Select a language

  • Arabic — عربي
  • Chinese (Simplified) — 中文简体
  • Chinese (Traditional) — 中文繁體
  • Dutch — Nederlands
  • Filipino — Filipino
  • French — Français
  • German — Deutsch
  • Hungarian — Magyar
  • Irish — Gaeilge
  • Italian — Italiano
  • Latvian — Latviešu
  • Lithuanian — Lietuvių kalba
  • Polish — Polski
  • Portuguese — Português
  • Romanian — Română
  • Russian — Русский
  • Slovak — Slovenčina
  • Spanish — Español
  • Ukrainian — Українська
  • Accessibility Statement for the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA-NI)

    Topics:
    • Countryside Management and Managing your Business, 
    • Education and Research, 
    • Help, 
    • Information technology

    This statement applies to content published on the www.daera-ni.gov.uk. It does not apply to content on any third party domains hosting daera-ni services.

    This website is run by the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (Northern Ireland). It is designed to be used by as many people as possible.

    How you should be able to use this website

    The text should be clear and simple to understand. You should be able to:

    • zoom in up to 300% without problems
    • navigate most of the website using just a keyboard
    • navigate most of the website using speech recognition software
    • use most of the website using a screen reader (including the most recent versions of JAWS, NVDA and VoiceOver)

    How accessible this website is

    Parts of this website are not fully accessible. For example:

    • some pages and document attachments are not clearly written
    • some tables do not have row or column headers
    • some pages and elements have poor colour contrast
    • some heading elements are not consistent
    • some images and icons do not have good alternative text
    • some complex images do not have sufficient descriptions
    • some video content does not have a text alternative
    • many documents are in PDF and MS Office formats and are not accessible

    Feedback and contact information

    If you need information in a different format contact us by email DAERAwebsite-admin@daera-ni.gov.uk and tell us:

    • the web address (URL) of the content
    • your name and email address
    • the format you need, for example, audio CD, braille, BSL or large print, accessible PDF

    Reporting accessibility problems with this website

    We are always looking to improve the accessibility of this website. If you find any problems not listed on this page, or think we’re not meeting your accessibility requirements, please contact us by email DAERAwebsite-admin@daera-ni.gov.uk and our Web Admin staff will investigate the issue.

    Enforcement procedure

    The Equality Commission for Northern Ireland (ECNI) is responsible for enforcing the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018 (the ‘Accessibility Regulations’) in Northern Ireland. If you are not happy with how we respond to your complaint, please contact the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland (ECNI).

    Technical information about this website’s accessibility

    The Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs is committed to making its website accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.

    Compliance status

    This website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) version 2.2 A and AA standards, due to the non-compliances listed below.

    Non-accessible content

    The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons.

    Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations 

    The content that is not accessible is outlined below with details of:

    • the accessibility problem(s)
    • where it fails the success criteria, and
    • when we plan to fix it

    Page Structure

    There are a number of pages which do not use a consistent or appropriate use of headings. This may result in a loss of meaning for users of screen readers. This fails WCAG 2.2 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships). We plan to repair these pages within the next 12 months, by September 2025.

    There are a number of pages with lists which may not be adequately structured. This may result in a loss of meaning for users of screen readers. This fails WCAG 2.2 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships). We plan to repair these pages within the next 12 months, by September 2025.

    When we publish new content we’ll make sure our use of headers and formatting of lists meet accessibility standards.

    Documents

    A number of documents are non-accessible for a number of reasons which may result in a loss of meaning for users of screen readers or present issues for users with moderately low vision. For example, some documents:

    • do not have a language attribute set This is a failure of WCAG 3.1.1 (language of page).
    • have areas of insufficient colour contrast. This is a failure of WCAG 1.4.3 (contrast (minimum))
    • do not have a correct reading order. This fails WCAG 1.3.1 (info and relationships) and 1.3.2 (meaningful sequence)
    • do not have alternative text for images. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.1.1 (non-text content).
    • have non-text content like bullet points and dotted lines which are not read aloud correctly. This fails WCAG 1.1.1 (non-text content).
    • have tables which are not marked up correctly. This fails WCAG 1.3.1 info and relationships)
    • are scanned documents with errors in elements including reading order, language, and title. This fails WCAG 1.3.1 (info and relationships).

    We plan to repair this within the next 12 months, by September 2025. If you find you require one of our non-accessible documents published since September 2018 before it is repaired, please contact us by email @ DAERA website admin and our Web Admin Team will arrange this for you.

    Any new PDFs or other documents we publish will meet the required accessibility standards.

    Images and Video

    Some images do not have a text alternative (alt text), so people using a screen reader cannot access the information. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.1.1 (non-text content). We plan to repair this within the next 12 months, by September 2025.

    A small number of complex images and charts do not convey meaningful information and cannot be described in a text alternative. Detailed descriptions are not currently available, which is a failure of WCAG 2.2 1.1.1 (non-text content) and 1.3.1 (info and relationships). We plan to repair this within the next 12 months, by September 2025.

    Some images include text which do not have sufficient contrast against the background, so people with moderately low vision may not be able to access the information. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.4.3 (contrast (minimum)). We plan to repair this within the next 12 months, by September 2025.

    A small number of pages have embedded video content without text alternatives or closed captions. This may prevent users from adapting the material through any sensory modality (for example, visual, auditory or tactile) to match their needs. This fails WCAG 2.2 1.2.1 (audio-only and video-only (pre-recorded)), 1.2.2 (captions (pre-recorded)), 1.2.3 (audio description or media alternative (pre-recorded)) and 1.2.5 (audio description (pre-recorded)). We plan to repair these pages within the next 12 months, by September 2025.

    When we publish new content we’ll make sure our use of images meets accessibility standards.

    Tables

    A small number of pages have tables which do not have row or column headers and are non-accessible. This may result in a loss of meaning for users of screen readers. This fails WCAG 2.2 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships). We plan to repair these pages within the next 12 months, by September 2025.

    Disproportionate burden

    Not applicable.

    Content that’s not within the scope of the accessibility regulations

    As a website published before 23 September 2018, we are required to comply with the Web Accessibility Regulations from 23 September 2020.

    However, some of our content is exempt from the accessibility regulations:

    • pre-recorded audio and video published before 23 September 2020
    • heritage collections
    • PDFs or other documents published before 23 September 2018 - unless required for the use of a service, for example a form
    • maps
    • third party content that is not within our control, for example, embedded video players like Vimeo or YouTube, and embedded Google Maps.

    If you have any problems using this website, please tell us. Email the web admin team @ Web Admin and our Web Admin team will investigate the issue and/or provide you with the information you need in an alternative format.

    PDFs and other documents

    Many documents are non-accessible in a number of ways including missing text alternatives and missing document structure.

    The accessibility regulations do not require us to fix PDFs or other documents published before 23 September 2018 if they’re not essential to providing our services.

    Any new PDFs or other documents we publish will meet the required accessibility standards.

    What we’re doing to improve accessibility

    We plan to identify and fix issues according to the timescales shown for each area above.

    Preparation of this accessibility statement

    This statement was prepared on 8th September 2020. It was last reviewed 15th January 2025.

    This website was and is currently being tested for compliance with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.2 level A and level AA, and these tests have been carried out externally and independently.

    We used the Website Accessibility Conformance Evaluation Methodology (WCAG-EM) approach to deciding on a sample of pages to test.

    Related content

    • 2025 Competitive Call for Research Proposals
    • Accessibility Statement - ASSI Permissions
    • Accessibility Statement - Avian Influenza Editor Map Viewer
    • Accessibility statement - Claim Confirmation
    • Accessibility Statement - DAERA Export Certificates
    • Accessibility Statement - DAERA Map Viewers
    • Accessibility Statement - Dead Wild Bird Online Reporting Tool
    • Accessibility Statement - Domestic Consents Public Register
    • Accessibility Statement - Drinking Water Inspectorate Viewer
    • Accessibility Statement - EFS Agreements
    • Accessibility Statement - Entitlements
    • Accessibility Statement - Farm Sustainability Transition Payment
    • Accessibility statement - Field Heap
    • Accessibility Statement - Natural Environment Map Viewer
    • Accessibility Statement - NI Marine Map Viewer
    • Accessibility Statement - Nitrates Derogation
    • Accessibility statement - Soil Nutrient Health Scheme
    • Accessibility Statement - Spatial Data Viewer
    • Accessibility Statement - Staff Risk Editor Map Viewer
    • Accessibility Statement - Staff Risk Viewer
    • Accessibility Statement - Veterinary Road Traffic Accident Editor
    • Accessibility Statement - Water Information Request Viewer
    • Accessibility Statements
    • Buying a computer
    • Cookies
    • Crown copyright
    • DAERA High-Level Science Advisory Group
    • DAERA Publication Scheme
    • Electronic Identification (EID)
    • Help viewing documents
    • How to apply for DAERA online services
    • Introduction to the internet
    • IP camera surveillance of livestock
    • List of some suppliers and installers of IP cameras
    • List of some suppliers of agriculture software packages
    • Product Data Catalogue - Accessibility Statement
    • Public Appointment Vacancies - Deputy Chair and up to 18 members of the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI) Board
    • Single Application supported browsers
    • Terms and conditions
    • US-Ireland Research and Development Partnership Call in Agriculture 2024
    • US-Ireland Research and Development Partnership Call in Agriculture 2025
    • Your privacy
    Share this page Share on Facebook (external link opens in a new window / tab) Share on X (external link opens in a new window / tab) Share by email (external link opens in a new window / tab)

    Department footer links

    • Crown copyright
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy
    • Cookies
    • Accessibility
    • The Northern Ireland Executive
    • The Executive Office
    • Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs
    • Department for Communities
    • Department for Education
    • Department for the Economy
    • Department of Finance
    • Department for Infrastructure
    • Department for Health
    • Department of Justice
    • nidirect.gov.uk — the official government website for Northern Ireland citizens