Accessibility Statement - Marine Grants Scheme
This application 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:
- navigate most of the website using just a keyboard (2.1.1 Keyboard)
- tab through forms and menus in a logical order (2.4.3 Focus Order)
- view content in a meaningful order (1.3.2 Meaningful sequence)
- access pages via menu, searching or direct URL (2.4.5 Multiple ways)
- use menus, icons and buttons in a consistent manner (3.2.3 Consistent Navigation, 3.2.4 Identification)
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:
- there is an orphaned form label
- heading structure issues
- content loss when orientation is changed and text is resized
- suspicious link text and redundant links have been identified
- dl elements have not been structured correctly
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 Affairs
Dundonald 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 2.2 AA standard, due to the non-compliances listed below.
Issues with technology
- Dl elements must only directly contain properly ordered lists – ensure dl elements are structured properly. (4.1.2)
- When the orientation is changed it causes loss of content causing tables within the review application screen to run off the screen. (1.3.4)
- Resizing the text to 200% causes loss of content to the same content as the orientation. (1.4.4)
- Missing documentation message is not read first to user when using a screen reader. (4.1.3)
- Reflow issues identified with tables when changes are made to the screen/text size. (1.4.10)
- Tabs have been used but the presented text isn’t read out to the user. The screen reader currently only reads out 'tab 1/2' but not the text presented to users, making it difficult to understand what the tab is being used for. (4.1.2)
- Orphaned form label identified within the review details page, properly associate the label with its corresponding form control. (2.4.6)
- Ensure all ARIA attributes have valid values, invalid ARIA attribute value used within the additional funding page. (4.1.2)
Issues with text
- Skipped heading level, restructure the document headings to ensure that heading levels are not skipped. (2.4.6)
- Suspicious link text has been used, link text should be descriptive of the destination it will take the user to. (2.4.4)
- Redundant links have been identified, these should be avoided as screen readers may read these out twice to the user. (2.4.4)
- Missing heading level, A first level heading (h1) should be present on nearly all pages. (2.4.6)
- Underlined text - Unless there is a distinct need for the underlined text, remove the underline from it. (2.4.4)
Issues with PDFs and other documents
- There is no heading structure within the 'view/print application' document. (2.4.6)
Issues with images, video and audio
- No known issues.
Issues with interactive tools and transactions
- No known issues.
We have added these items to our accessibility bug backlog and will be scheduling them into our iterative improvement plan.
How we tested this website
This website was last tested on 27/03/2024. The test was carried out by DAERA Digital Services Division.
We chose to test all available pages within the application. The pages were tested for code compliance using the Axe and WAVE (Web Accessibility Evaluation Tool) Chrome extensions and NVDA screen reader. The pages also underwent manual testing to ensure they adhered to the four Accessibility principles (Perceivable, Operable, Understandable, Robust).
We tested the following sample pages. The accessibility evaluation report (HPRM ref) can be made available on request.
- Start screen
- Guidance
- Eligible items
- Additional funding
- Current/previous applications
- Review submission
- view/print application submission
What we're doing to improve accessibility
The Department 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 recommend that teams conduct user research to ascertain user requirements before developing new applications.
This statement was prepared on 27 March 2024.