Accessibility Statement - ssRMP

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 parts of this website are not fully accessible.

• when pop-up windows are opened, the keyboard user should only be able to click inside the window - not in the parent window - as this can be disorienting and makes it difficult for keyboard-only users to complete the form
• Missing alternative (accessible) text on error icons and all menu icons on ssRMP Map
• Some skipped or missing heading levels may make it difficult for some users to understand page structure
• Information icons are used but it's not clear to users what they are for or that they open content in a new tab
• When errors or success messages are returned, they are not prioritised to screenreader users. So some users may not be aware that errors have occurred until they tab through the rest of the content on the page.
• the application includes complex mapping functionality which cannot be made fully accessible.
• some of the PDFs created in this application are not fully accessible at this time

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 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. The non-compliances are listed below.

Non-accessible content

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

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

• None of the tested modal windows in the application are trapping focus - this is an issue as a keyboard-only user may be still be tabbing through items on the parent window and cannot get back to the modal window without going right back to the start. Only items within the modal window should receive focus for the duration it is open. (2.4.3 Focus Order)
• Much of the tabular content causes two-dimensional scrolling. This is considered an exception in the WCAG guidelines, but future improvements in stacking these inputs would be preferable.(1.4.10 Reflow)
• Ticking the checkboxes under 'Fields included' updates the 'Total area', but there is no role="alert" for screenreaders to announce a change of content (possibly context) elsewhere on the page. It is even difficult for non sight-impaired users to spot as it is above the checkbox fields . (3.2.2 On Input)
• A number of non-unique fields identified with WAVE and Axe (4.1.1 Parsing)
• No main landmark on any pages - all pages should have at least a main landmark (4.1.2 Name, Role, Value) to help screenreaders to identify the pages most important content.
• When errors or success messages are returned, they are not given role="alert" to allow them to be identified as priority by screenreaders. This would make it diffiult for screenreader users to understand why the form is not submitting without trawling through the whole page until they come across the error information. (4.1.3 Status Messages)
• Some skipped or missing heading levels. (1.3.1 Info and Relationships)
• The PDF Map created within this service is not fully accessible at this time. We are working at making this more accessible or providing the information in an alternative accessible format.
• Missing alt (accessible) text on error icons (Form) and all menu icons on ssRMP Map. (1.1.1 Non-text Content)
• Where information icons are used there is no visible textual information to describe what they are or whether they open in a new window. (2.4.4 Link Purpose (In Context))

Disproportionate burden

• The service includes complex geospatial mapping functionality which cannot be made fully accessible. GOV.UK suggest that maps are not required to be made fully accessible, so long as the essential information is made available in an alternative accessible format.

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

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].

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 19 May 2022. It was last reviewed on 24 June 2022.

This website was last tested on 24 June 2022 against the WCAG 2.2 AA standard.

The test was carried out by DAERA Digital Services Division.

The following pages were tested:

• Form - Welcome
• Form - Management Units
• Form - Additional Information
• Form - Declarations
• Form - Option and NPI Selection
• Form - Additional Information
• ssRMP Map (using GeoCortex)
• PDF Map
• Farm Features Report Excel - Farm Features

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).

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