Accessibility Statement for Liofa.eu

This statement applies to content published on the www.liofa.eu domain. It does not apply to content on any third party domains hosting Líofa services.

This website is run by the Department for Communities. It is designed to be used by as many people as possible. The text should be clear and simple to understand. You should be able to:

  • 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 do not have good alternative text
  • some complex images do not have sufficient descriptions
  • some buttons are not correctly identified
  • some error messages are not clearly associated with form controls

How to request content in an accessible format

If you need information in a different format contact us by using the contact form and tell us:

  • the web address (URL) of the content
  • your name and email address
  • the format you need, for example, audio CD, braille, BSL or large print, accessible PDF

Reporting accessibility problems with this website

We’re always looking to improve the accessibility of this website. If you find any problems not listed on this page or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, contact us by using the contact form and our Líofa Officers 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’re not happy with how we respond to your complaint, contact the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland (ECNI)(external link opens in a new window / tab).

Technical information about this website’s accessibility

The Department for Communities is committed to making its websites 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(external link opens in a new window / tab) 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 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 Drupal content management system (CMS) and will require developer and web design input.

There are a number of elements which do not have the correct focus order, or reading order, for example, the different elements of the website header. This may prevent users navigating through content sequentially, or in the order intended, especially if navigating with a keyboard or screen reader. This fails WCAG success criterion 2.4.3 (focus order). We plan to repair this within the next 12 months, by September 2021.

There are a number of pages and elements with text of insufficient contrast against background. This may prevent users with low vision being able to read this information easily. This fails WCAG success criterion 1.4.1 (use of colour), 1.4.3 (contrast (minimum)) and 1.4.11 (non-text contrast). We plan to repair this within the next 12 months, by September 2021.

There are a number of links which are not clearly indefinable as they do not have adequate colour contrast or hover state colour contrast. This prevents them being visibly distinctive. This may prevent users, including those with colour deficiencies from identifying these links. This fails WCAG success criterion 1.4.1 (use of colour). We plan to repair this within the next 12 months, by September 2021.

This website does not offer adequate focus of page elements, ie, for keyboard navigation it is not clear where the user may be focused, causing a loss of orientation. This fails WCAG success criterion 2.4.7 (focus visible). We plan to repair this within the next 12 months, by September 2021.

The websites top navigation features drop down menus which are not accessible via keyboard operation. This prevents any user from operating main content using a keyboard. This fails WCAG 2.1.1 (keyboard). We plan to repair this within the next 12 months, by September 2021.

A number of interactive elements do not have informative labels or titles. This prevents users from clearly identifying the function or instruction of an element, for example, a button. This is a failure of WCAG 3.3.2 (labels or instructions). We plan to repair this within the next 12 months, by September 2021.

The site search function does not have any placeholder text to visually label the component and associate it with its function. This prevents people with disabilities being able to rely on visible labels as a means to interact with such components. This fails WCAG 1.3.1 (info and relationships), 2.5.3 (label in name) and 2.4.6 (headings and labels). We plan to repair this within the next 12 months, by September 2021.

A number of errors in the site’s source code prevent content from being accurately parsed. This prevents user agents, including assistive technologies, from accurately interpreting and parsing content. This fails WCAG 4.1.1 (parsing). We plan to repair this within the next 12 months, by September 2021.

The carousel images on the website’s homepage cannot be paused, stopped or hidden. Content that moves or auto-updates can be a barrier to users that have trouble reading stationary text quickly as well as those who have trouble tracking moving objects. It can also cause problems for screen readers. This fails WCAG 2.2.2 (pause, stop, hide). We plan to repair this within the next 12 months, by September 2021.

A number of error identification messages associated with forms do not provide suitable suggestion. This may prevent users identifying what is wrong and may cause others to conclude the form is not fully functional. This fails WCAG 3.3.1 (error identification). We plan to repair this within the next 12 months, by September 2021.

There are a number of pages where the page language is not fully identified and a small number of pages which have content in different languages where the language is not identified. This prevents users of assistive technologies and conventional user agents from reading and accurately understanding this text. This fails success criterion WCAG 3.1.1 (language of page). We plan to repair this within the next 12 months, by September 2021.

When we make any platform developments, we’ll make sure they are tested to meet the required accessibility standards.

Our underlying content management system is currently being upgraded from Drupal 7 to Drupal 8. It is our intention to address these issues during that upgrade which is expected to be completed by September 2021.

Images and Video

A small number of complex images are not adequately described in a text alternative. Detailed descriptions are not currently available which is a failure of WCAG 2.1 1.1.1 (non-text content) and 1.3.1 (info and relationships). We plan to repair this within the next 12 months, by September 2021.

When we publish new content we’ll make sure our use of images meets accessibility standards.

Disproportionate burden

Not applicable.

Content that’s 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.

If you have any problems using this website, contact us by using the contact form and our Líofa Officers will investigate the issue and/or provide you with the information you need in an alternative format.

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, and these tests have been carried out externally and independently.

We used the Website Accessibility Conformance Evaluation Methodology (WCAG-EM) approach to deciding on a sample of pages to test.

What we’re doing to improve accessibility

We plan to identify and fix issues according to the timescales shown for each area above.

This statement was prepared on 18 September 2020. It was last updated on 18 September 2020.