Accessibility Statement - Rural Needs Act (NI) 2016 - Annual Monitoring Report

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:

• user is unable to extend their session and will be logged out after a period of inactivity.

• issues identified around main page landmark which helps screen reading software navigate the page

• some elements are not using supported ARIA attributes

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 non-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

• The main landmark should not be contained in another landmark – there is more than one main landmark. Fix this in the master page to address throughout the application. (1.3.1 Info and Relationships)
• Tabular content pushes out the screen width – consider wrapping tables in scrollable DIV so tables can be scrolled independently of the full screen. (1.4.10 Reflow)
• No mechanism observed for warning user of session timeout, or adjusting/extending the time limit. (2.2.1 Timing Adjustable)
• The name of the service should match the name on the service page on daera-ni.gov.uk to avoid confusion. Edit summary page: H1 heading and title tab should match (2.4.2 Page Titled).
• Edit summary: 4 x broken ARIA references on the conditionally revealed text areas: An aria-labelledby or aria-describedby reference exists, but the target for the reference does not exist. (4.1.2 Name, Role, Value)

Disproportionate burden

• Not applicable

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

• No known issues

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 20 March 2026. 

This website was last tested on 20 March 2026 against the WCAG 2.2 AA standard.

The test was carried out by DAERA Digital Services Division.

We tested the following pages:

• Landing page
• Dashboard
• Summaries
• Review summary
• Appendix 2
• Users
• Reassign summary
• Deactivate summary

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 testing tool. 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 application was unable to be tested using the Wave testing tool.

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