Accessibility Statement - Information Hub

This website is run by Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA), Northern Ireland. We want as many people as possible to be able to use this website.

For example, that means you should be able to:

• change colours, contrast levels and fonts using browser or device settings
• zoom in up to 400% without the text spilling off the screen
• navigate most of the website using a keyboard or speech recognition software
• listen to most of the website using a screen reader (including the most recent versions of JAWS, NVDA and VoiceOver)

We’ve also made the website text as simple as possible to understand.

AbilityNet has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability.

How accessible this website is

We know some parts of this website aren't fully accessible:

• in the main horizontal menu - empty buttons and links, broken ARIA reference and menu.
• there are some missing landmarks on pages, which are helpful for screenreaders to navigate to areas of the page
• there are missing labels on start and end date inputs, and empty form labels on checkboxes associated with listings rows
• there are skipped heading levels which may be confusing for some users of assistive technologies
• some non-semantic use of list elements, potential screenreader issues on nested interactive controls (i.e. side filters lists)
• focus indicators are faint and indistinct on many buttons, especially blue buttons (same colour as the focus indicator)
• there is some missing alternative text on images added using the content management facility
• the homepage is not responsive (i.e. the page reduces proportionately in size to fit the screen but it is not fluid and does not reorder the content)

Feedback and contact information

If you find any problems not listed on this page or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, contact the DAERA Helpline who will direct you towards the correct branch or division.

• email daera.helpline@daera-ni.gov.uk
• call 0300 200 7852

You can also contact the DAERA Helpline if you need information on this website in a different format like accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille.

If you have a hearing difficulty you can contact DAERA via Text Relay using the Next Generation Text Service (NGTS). Making a call from a textphone dial 18001 + number. Making a call from a telephone dial 18002 + number.

There are also various Text to Speech applications available to use

If you cannot view the map on our contact us page, call or email us for directions.

Enforcement procedure

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

Technical information about this website’s accessibility

DAERA 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

The website has been tested against the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 AA standard.

This website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.2 AA standard, 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

• Missing alt text on homepage carousel items (1.1.1 Non-text content)
• Empty buttons and links in header menu (1.1.1 Non-text content)
• Some missing form labels on filter fields and select-all checkboxes (1.1.1 Non-text content, 3.3.2 Labels or instructions)
• Some broken Aria references in header menu, and elements must only use allowed attributes (1.3.1 Info and Relationships, 2.1.1 Keyboard, 4.1.1 Parsing, 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value)
• All elements should be contained with landmarks (axe-core 4.3)
• Skipped heading levels on various items (1.3.1 Info and Relationships)
• Some list elements in the filterable side menu are not used semantically- nested interactive controls are not announced by screenreaders (1.3.1 Info and Relationships, 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value)
• Homepage is not responsive (1.4.10 Reflow)
• Some use of tooltips which are not dismissable without moving the pointer, also moving the pointer will cause content to disappear (1.4.13 Content on hover or focus)
• Focus indicator outline is not always clear against the colour of the button (2.4.7 Focus visible)
• Some redundant title text on listings - advisory information presented should not be identical to or very similar to the element text or alternative text.
• No video content was included within the sampled pages, however where videos are displayed they should include captions, and an audio portion where appropriate, and/or a transcript of the content. (1.2 Time-based Media)

Disproportionate burden

• Please note, this evaluation has not considered the use of map functionality in detail, as maps are not required to be made accessible as part of the Accessibility leglislation (provided essential information can be made available by another means).

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

This application uses mapping functionality and imagery extensively. Maps are one of the items which are excepted from the accessibility legislation, provided essential information is provided in other ways. However, we will attempt to make the functionality of map viewers as accessible as possible within these limitations.

PDFs and other documents

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. For example, we do not plan to fix [example of non-essential document].

Any new PDFs or Word documents we publish will meet accessibility standards.

What we’re doing to improve accessibility

DAERA is actively engaged in improving the accessibility of its applications. As part of our 'UX Checklist', we require developers to design software with accessibility compliance built in. In those circumstances where compliance cannot be met, reasons for this should be documented, along with steps for addressing issues. We also endeavour to carry out user research to ascertain user requirements and conduct usability workshopping before launching new applications.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 25 October 2021. It was last reviewed on 7 December 2023.

This website was last tested on 7 December 2023 against the WCAG 2.2 AA standard.

The test was carried out by DAERA Digital Services Division.

We tested the following pages:

We chose to test those pages which were most commonly used, and most representative of the general functionality and layout of the web application. Sample pages were tested for code compliance using the Axe and WAVE testing tools. The pages also underwent manual testing to ensure they adhered to the four Accessibility principles (Perceivable, Operable, Understandable, Robust). We also test using NVDA screenreader, and Adobe Acrobat Accessibility Checker (where applicable).

We tested the following sections:

• Homepage
• Content page
• Gallery
• Scene
• Groups
• Organisation
• Example Item page

Esri has also carried out extensive accessibility testing on the platform and their Conformance Report can be read in full.

• Esri Accessibility Conformance Report (version 11.1.0) (08/08/2023)

The full accessibility test report can be made available on request.