Accessibility

• zoom in up to 300% without problems
• navigate most of the website using just a keyboard
• navigate most of the website using speech recognition software
• use most of the website using a screen reader (including the most recent versions of JAWS, NVDA and VoiceOver)

How accessible this website is

Parts of this website are not fully accessible. For example:

• some pages and document attachments are not clearly written
• some tables do not have row or column headers
• some pages and elements have poor colour contrast
• some heading elements are not consistent
• some images and icons have missing or do not have good alternative text
• some complex images do not have sufficient descriptions
• some video content does not have a text alternative
• many documents are in MS Office formats and are not accessible

How to request content in an accessible format

If you need information in a different format like accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille contact us by:
Email: info@nisra.gov.uk
Tel: +44 (0)300 200 7836

Please tell us:

• the web address (URL) of the content
• your name and email address
• the format you require, for example audio CD, or accessible pdf

We will consider your request and get back to you within 5 working days of receipt.

Reporting accessibility problems with this website

If you find any problems not listed on this page or think we are not meeting the accessibility requirements, contact us by:
Email: info@nisra.gov.uk
Tel: +44 (0)300 200 7836
Someone in our Dissemination Branch will investigate the issue.

Enforcement procedure

The Equality Commission for Northern Ireland (ECNI) is responsible for enforcing the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No.2) Accessibility Regulations 2018 (the accessibility regulations in Northern Ireland).

If you are not happy with how we respond to your complaint, contact the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland (ECNI).

Technical information about the accessibility of this website

The Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency 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

This website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 AA standard, due to the non-compliances listed below.

Non-accessible content

The content that is not accessible is outlined below with details of:

• the accessibility problem(s)
• where it fails the success criteria, and
• when we plan to fix it.

Developer issues

A number of accessibility issues are related to the underlying content management system (CMS) and will require developer and web design input.
These include but not limited to the following:

• colour contrast interface elements (WCAG 2.1, Level AA, 1.4.11)
• accessible names in some instances do not match visible labels (WCAG 2.1, Level A, 2.5.3)
• elements use colour to convey meaning which is not accessible to assistive technologies or users with low vision (WCAG 2.1, Level A, 1.4.1)
• there are some instances where focus state was not visible throughout the site (WCAG 2.1, Level AA, 2.4.7)
• dynamic content inaccessible to keyboard users (WCAG 2.1, Level A, 2.1.1)
• linked images missing alternative text (WCAG 2.1, Level A, 1.1.1 and WCAG 2.1, Level A, 2.4.4)
• frames have a missing title attribute (WCAG 2.1, Level A, 2.4.1 and WCAG 2.1, Level A, 4.1.2)

The NINIS website was developed by a third party and as such fixing these developer issues would incur a substantial cost. We are looking at options over the next 12 to 18 months regarding the future of the NINIS website, therefore we believe it is better to wait and see what decisions are made regarding the future of the website before incurring any further cost in its development. Accessibility will be at the forefront of any decision made.

Page Structure

Some pages have no page regions defined. This fails WCAG 2.1, Level A, 1.3.1 (info and relationships) and WCAG 2.1, Level A, 2.4.1 (bypass blocks).

There are a number of pages with lists which may not be adequately structured. This fails WCAG 2.1, Level A, 1.3.1 (info and relationships).

Some pages include links which do not warn the user they are about to open in a new window, download a pdf, or an excel spreadsheet and that are not marked up correctly. This fails WCAG 2.1, Level A, 2.4.4 (link purpose (in context) and WCAG 2.1, Level A, 3.2.2 (on input)).

Some pages have areas of insufficient colour contrast. This is a failure of WCAG, Level AA, 1.4.3 (contrast (minimum)) and WCAG 2.1, Level A, 1.4.1 (use of colour).

Some pages have incorrectly marked up tables. This fails WCAG 2.1, Level A 1.3.1 (Info and relationships) and WCAG 2.1, Level A 1.3.2 (Meaningful sequence).

Documents

Some documents are non-accessible for a number of reasons which may result in a loss of meaning for users of screen readers or present issues for users with moderately low vision. For example, some documents:

• do not have a language attribute set. This is a failure of WCAG, Level A, 3.1.1 (language of page)
• have incorrectly tagged headings and document titles. This fails WCAG 2.1, Level A, 2.4.2 (page titled) and WCAG 2.1, Level A, 1.3.1 (info and relationships)
• have areas of insufficient colour contrast. This is a failure of WCAG, Level AA, 1.4.3 (contrast (minimum)) and WCAG 2.1, Level A, 1.4.1 (use of colour)
• do not have a correct reading order. This fails WCAG 2.1, Level A, 1.3.1 (info and relationships) and WCAG 2.1, Level A, 1.3.2 (meaningful sequence)
• do not have alternative text for images. This fails WCAG 2.1, Level A, 1.1.1 (non-text content)
• use images for text. This fails WCAG 2.1, Level AA, 1.4.5 (images of text)
• have tables, charts and figures which are not marked up correctly. This fails WCAG 2.1, Level A, 1.3.1 (info and relationships) and WCAG 2.1, Level A, 1.1.1 (non-text content)
• have links not marked up correctly. This fails WCAG 2.1, Level A, 1.3.1 (info and relationships) and WCAG 2.1, Level A , 2.4.4 (link purpose in context) and WCAG 2.1, Level A, 1.4.1 (use of colour)
• have merged cells within some spreadsheets. This fails WCAG 2.1, Level A, 1.3.1 (info and relationships).

The NINIS website contains over 400 datasets that fall within the parameters of the accessibility guidelines, the majority of which are not fully accessible. Over the next 12 to 18 months when these are being updated we will strive to ensure they are accessible.

If you require one of our non-accessible documents please see the How to Request an Accessible Document section above.

Images and Video

Some images do not have a text alternative (alt text), and some decorative images are not marked up correctly. This fails WCAG 2.1, Level A, 1.1.1 (non-text content). We plan to repair this within the next 12 months, by September 2021.

A small number of complex images and charts do not convey meaningful information and cannot be described in a text alternative. This fails WCAG 2.1, Level A, 1.1.1 (non-text content) and WCAG 2.1, Level A, 1.3.1 (info and relationships). We plan to repair this within the next 12 months, by September 2021.

Disproportionate burden

We've assessed that currently it would be a disproportionate burden within the meaning of the No.2 Regulations to fix the developer issues outlined above. As stated earlier, to fix the developer issues would incur a substantial cost. As we will be reviewing this website over the next 12 to 18 months we do not believe the cost of time, effort and resource to fix all these issues would be justified and would be a disproportionate burden. When reviewing our options accessibility will be at the forefront of any decisions made.

Content that is not within the scope of the accessibility regulations

As a website published before 23 September 2018, we are required to comply with the web accessibility regulations from 23 September 2020.

However, some of our content is exempt from the accessibility regulations:

• pre-recorded audio and video published before 23 September 2020
• heritage collections
• PDFs or other documents published before 23 September 2018 - unless required for the use of a service, for example a form
• maps
• third party content that is not within our control, for example, embedded video players like Vimeo or YouTube, and embedded Google Maps.

PDFs and other documents

Many documents are non-accessible in a number of ways including missing text alternatives and missing document structure. For further detail on this see the Documents section above.

The accessibility regulations do not require us to fix PDFs or other documents published before 23 September 2018 if they are not essential to providing our services.

How we tested this website

This website was and is currently being tested for compliance with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 level A and level AA.

The website was tested in September 2020 and testing was carried out by the Dissemination Branch, within NISRA. Automation testing was carried out using WAVE WebAim, Axe, Adobe Acrobat Pro, MS Excel Accessibility checker as well as manually testing colour contrast ratios. The home page of the website was tested along with a sample of pages and documents using google analytics to determine the most popular.

What we are doing to improve accessibility

We are reviewing any new documents uploaded to our website and checking for accessibility.

This statement was prepared on 21 September 2020. It was last updated on 21 September 2020.