Department of Agriculture, environment and rural affairs

Accessibility Statement

This accessibility statement applies to www.airqualityni.co.uk, delivered by Ricardo. 

How you should be able to use this website

We want as many people as possible to be able to use this website. 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)
  • Understand content easily, as we aim to use simple and clear language where possible 
  • Ensure that text and interactive elements have sufficient spacing for readability, ease of navigation, and compatibility with assistive technologies 

AbilityNet has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability.

How accessible this website is

While we strive for accessibility, we are aware that some parts of this website are not fully accessible: 

  • some pages and document attachments are not written in plain English
  • some documents have poor colour contrast
  • some heading elements are not consistent
  • many documents are in PDF format and are not accessible

Feedback and contact information

Tell us if you need information in a different format.

In your message, include:

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

Reporting accessibility problems with this website

If you find any problems that are not listed on this page or you think we’re not meeting the accessibility requirements, contact us.

Enforcement procedure

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) 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 the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS).

Technical information about this website’s accessibility

Ricardo is committed to making its websites 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 2.2 AA standard, due to the non-compliances and exemptions listed below.

Non-accessible content

The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons.

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

  1. Images on some pages do not always have suitable image descriptions. Users of assistive technologies may not have access to information conveyed in images. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.1.1 (Non-text Content).
  2. Maps on some pages do not always support users of assitive technology. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.1.1 (Non-text Content). However all the information in maps is available on the site and is linked directly before the map.
  3. Some images of text that are used as links have image descriptions that don’t include all of the text. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 2.5.3 (Label in Name).
  4. Some tables are structured incorrectly, so screen readers cannot understand the relationships between information in the table. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships).
  5. Some headings do not display correctly. They may look like normal text or a different type of heading. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships).
  6. Some images use colour as the only way to convey meaning. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.4.1 (Use of Color).
  7. Some images include text with poor colour contrast to its background. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.4.3 (Contrast (Minimum)).
  8. Some images include elements with poor colour contrast to the background. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.4.11 (Non-text Contrast).
  9. Some links that reveal more content can cause some screen reader users to lose their position on the page. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 4.1.2 (Name, Role, Value).
  10. Some required Aria attributes are not provided. 

 

Many documents are in non-HTML formats, for example PDF. They are not accessible in a number of ways including missing text alternatives and missing document structure.

Disproportionate burden

Some of the content used to apply for some types of licence is non-accessible. The non-accessible content is published through platforms which we are transitioning to new arrangements. We believe that fixing the problems causing content to be non-accessible on the old platforms would be disproportionate.

Content that’s not within the scope of the accessibility regulations

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

What we’re doing to improve accessibility

We are working to fix content which fails to meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.2 AA standard.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 14th March 2025. It was last reviewed on 14 March 2025.

We used findings from our own testing when preparing this accessibility statement.

Updates to this page

Last updated 14th March 2025