Accessibility Statement - EFS Wider Agreement and Application
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:
- zoom in up to 200% without the text spilling off the screen
- navigate most of the website using just a keyboard
- navigate most of the website using speech recognition software
- clearly understand the content and instructions of the website.
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:
- tooltips are used to provide additional information and error messages to the user but these are not always accessible to users of assistive technologies, such as screenreaders
- it's not possible to navigate through some parts of the application using a keyboard
- complex tables are used, which makes it difficult for screenreaders to interpret the content of these tables
- there are some colour contrast issues, causing difficulties for sight-impaired users
- some PDFs generated by the application are not fully accessible
- the application uses map functionality for displaying areas of land and features. This has not been possible to make fully accessible.
What to do if you can't access parts of this website
If you need further information or assistance in using parts of this website, you can contact a DAERA Direct Regional Office.
- email DAERA Direct Regional Offices
- call 0300 200 7840
A DAERA member of staff will be able to help you with your request.
Reporting accessibility problems with this website
We're always looking to improve the accessibility of this website. If you find any problems that aren't listed on this page or think we're not meeting the requirements of the accessibility regulations, contact the DAERA customer helpline on 0300 200 7852 or email daera.helpline@daera-ni.gov.uk.
If you are unhappy with the quality of service received, in the first instance, you can make a complaint to DAERA.
Enforcement procedure
If you remain dissatisfied with the Department's final response to your complaint, you can refer your case to the Equalities Commission for Northern Ireland (ECNI), which is responsible for enforcing accessibility regulations. You can contact them.
Contacting us by phone or visiting us in person
Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural AffairsDundonald House
Upper Newtownards Road
Ballymiscaw
Belfast BT4 3SB
DAERA Headquarters map location
Call DAERA customer helpline on 0300 200 7852 or email daera.helpline@daera-ni.gov.uk.
If you have a hearing difficulty you can contact the Department 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.
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.
This website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 AA standard, due to the non-compliances listed below.
Issues with technology
- 'Fake' header rows are employed on some tables, which means the column titles are not associated with the table cells (1.3.1 Info and relationships) - this will be investigated prior to the next application window
- some buttons and text areas do not pass minimum contrast ratio (1.4.3 Contrast Minimum) - this will be addressed for the next application window
- tooltips do not adhere to the dismissable and hoverable requirements (1.4.13 Content on Hover or Focus) - this will be addressed for the next application window
- tooltips are used to present warnings and errors. This is problematic as important information required to progress the application should be visible on-screen at all times. This will be investigated prior to the next application window, but any change will have to be assessed in the context of overall usability of the application and the potential disproportionate burden of any such changes
- some buttons cannot be tabbed to using a keyboard (View field map, View map) (2.1.1 Keyboard) - this will be addressed for the next application window
- where aria-labels are used, the descriptions should be meaningful rather than programmatic (2.4.6 Headings and Labels) - this will be investigated prior to the next application window
- the focus state for many buttons is very difficult to identify - there is no visible border or colour change (2.4.7 Focus Visible) - this will be addressed for the next application window
- when 'Add a new field' button is clicked a new row is added to the table above, but the input focus is not set to this row. For screenreader users, it would be difficult to understand the sequence of events (3.2.2 On Input) - this will be addressed for the next application window
- the site is missing a main landmark, which should identify the key content of the page (4.1.2 Name, Role, Value) - this will be addressed for the next application window
- status messages (e.g. warnings/error messages) are provided but do not receive focus, as they do not have a 'role=alert', so may be overlooked by screenreading software (4.1.3 Status Messages) - this will be investigated prior to the next application window
Issues with text
- Headings are sometimes used for presentational effect rather than to convey document structure (e.g. Contact form) (1.3.1 Info and relationships) - this will be investigated prior to the next application window
- some content overlaps or is no longer visible on low resolution screens (1.4.10 Reflow) - this will be investigated prior to the next application window
- the title element should contain the name of the current page, so the user can identify where they are in the application (2.4.2 Page Titled) - - this will be addressed for the next application window
Issues with PDFs and other documents
- some PDFs generated from this application, such as WiderLevelSchedule or PrintFieldData, are not fully accessible. There are issues with titles, language identification, tagging of content, alternate text, table structure, lists and nesting of content. We are working to either fix these, or ensure the content is otherwise available in accessible webpages.
- Accessibility regulations don't 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 don't plan to fix older user guides for legacy applications.
- Any new PDFs or Word documents we publish will meet accessibility standards.
Issues with images, video and audio
- No known issues.
Issues with interactive tools and transactions
- the application includes a mapping tool to display land areas and agricultural features. The complexity of the interface and the need to amend detailed geospatial information visually cannot be made accessible to all users at this point. The legislation indicates that it is not required to make maps accessible - but essential information should be provided in an accessible format.
- Some of our interactive forms are difficult to navigate using a keyboard, due to complexity of some components.
How we tested this website
This website was last tested on 21 July 2021. The test was carried out by DAERA Digital Services Division.
We chose to sample those pages which were most commonly used, and most representative of the general functionality and layout of the web application. The sample pages were tested for code compliance using the Axe testing tool and WAVE (Web Accessiblity Evaluation Tool). The pages also underwent manual testing to ensure they adhered to the four Accessibility principles (Perceivable, Operable, Understandable, Robust). We also used NVDA screenreading software, Adobe Acrobat Pro and various colour contrast and magnification tools.
We tested:
- EFS landing page
- Agreement - Wider application
- Welcome page
- Fields and scheme
- Options and items (Wider)
- Summary and confirmation
- Wider agreement (completed)
- WiderLevel Schedule (PDF)
- DisplayAgreement (PDF)
- PrintFieldData (PDF)
What we're doing to improve accessibility
The Department is actively engaged in improving the accessibility of its applications. As part of our 'Development 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 carry out user research to ascertain user requirements and conduct usability workshopping before launching new applications.
This statement was prepared on 05 August 2021. It was last updated on 05 August 2021.