Accessibility statement for Land and Property Services Rates Support System (LPS RSS)

This page explains how accessible the nidirect Land and Property Services Rates Support System is and what is being done to improve accessibility.

Accessibility statement

This service is part of the wider nidirect website. There’s a separate accessibility statement for the main nidirect website.

This page only contains information about the NI Direct Land and Property Service Rates and Support System (LPS RSS).

This statement applies to the LPS RSS web based application accessible via the www.nidirect.gov.uk domain.

This application is run by the Department of Finance. It is designed to be used by as many people as possible. The text should be clear and simple to understand. When accessing the app through the web browser, you should be able to:

zoom in up to 300 per cent without problems
navigate most of the application using just a keyboard
navigate most of the application using speech recognition software
use most of the application using a screen reader (including the most recent versions of JAWS, NVDA and Voice Over)

How accessible this web application is

Parts of this web application are not fully accessible. For example:

some images and icons do not have alternative text
some pages include missing landmark tags
some pages and elements have poor colour contrast
some pages have tables that become condensed and therefore hard to understand and content is pushed together slightly too much
some pages have not the required level of contrast ratio of at least 3.1
some pages on the top navigation menu dropdown appears to hover (not focus) and is not dismissible
some pages within the calendar date picker is not accessible to keyboard users
there is no link on any page that will allow users to skip repeated content such as navigation across web pages
all notification and action buttons have the same link text, so their purpose could be ambiguous to users navigating with a keyboard
some pages and elements do not have the required keyboard focus
some pages have components that do not contain the visible text

Feedback and contact information

If you need information in a different format contact the team by email at DOF.Enquiries@finance-ni.gov.uk and advise us of:

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

Contacting LPS by phone to process an application

Alternatively LPS can be contacted on - 0300 200 7802

Reporting accessibility problems with this web application

LPS is always looking to improve the accessibility of this web application. If you find any problems not listed on this page or think LPS is not meeting accessibility requirements, contact them on DOF.Enquiries@finance-ni.gov.uk and they 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 LPS responds to your complaint, contact the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland (ECNI).

Technical information about this web application accessibility

nidirect is committed to making its website and apps accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.

Compliance Status

This web app is not compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 AA standard. The ‘non-compliances are listed below.

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

It is our intention to address these issues and it is expected to be completed by September 2021.

Perceivable

Level A - 1.1.1 Non-text content. All non-text content that is presented to the user has a text alternative that serves the equivalent purpose, except for the following situations: Controls Input, Time based Media, Test, Sensory, CAPTCHA and Decoration, Formatting, Invisible.

Level A - 1.3.1 Info and relationships. Information, structure, and relationships conveyed through presentation can be programmatically determined or are available in text.

Level AA - 1.4.3 Contrast (minimum). The visual presentation of text and images of text has a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1, except for the following: Large text, Incidental, Logotypes.

Level AA - 1.4.10 Reflow. Content reflows and is not lost on 400 per cent zoom, but tables become condensed and therefore hard to understand.

Level AA - 1.4.11 Non-text contrast (added in WCAG 2.1). The visual presentation of the following have a contrast ratio of at least 3:1 against adjacent colour(s): User Interface Components and Graphical Objects.

Level AA - 1.4.13 Content on hover or focus (added in WCAG 2.1). Where receiving and then removing pointer hover or keyboard focus triggers additional content to become visible and then hidden, the following are true: Dismissible, Hoverable and Persistent:

Operable

Level A - 2.1.1 Keyboard. All functionality of the content is operable through a keyboard interface without requiring specific timings for individual keystrokes, except where the underlying function requires input that depends on the path of the user's movement and not just the endpoints

Level A - 2.4.1 Bypass blocks. There is mechanism to skip the navigation and focus on the main content

Level A - 2.4.4 Link purpose (in context) The purpose of each link can be determined from the link text alone or from the link text together with its programmatically determined link context, except where the purpose of the link would be ambiguous to users in general.

Level AA - 2.4.7 Focus visible. Any keyboard operable user interface has a mode of operation where the keyboard focus indicator is visible.

Level A (Added in WCAG 2.1) - 2.5.3 Label in name. For user interface components with labels that include text or images of text, the name contains the text that is presented visually

Understandable

Level A - 3.3.1 Error identification. If an input error is automatically detected, the item that is in error is identified and the error is described to the user in text.

Level A - 3.3.2 Labels or instructions. Labels or instructions are provided when content requires user input

Robust

Level A - 4.1.1 Parsing. In content implemented using mark-up languages, elements have complete start and end tags, elements are nested according to their specifications, elements do not contain duplicate attributes, and any IDs are unique, except where the specifications allow these features.

Level A - 4.1.2 Name, role, value. For all user interface components (including but not limited to: form elements, links and components generated by scripts), the name and role can be programmatically determined; states, properties, and values that can be set by the user can be programmatically set; and notification of changes to these items is available to user agents, including assistive technologies.

Level AA (Added in WCAG 2.1) 4.1.3 Status messages. In content implemented using mark-up languages, status messages can be programmatically determined through role or properties such that they can be presented to the user by assistive technologies without receiving focus.

Disproportionate burden

Not applicable.

Content that’s not within the scope of accessibility regulations

As a web app published before 23 September 2018, LPS is required to comply with the web accessibility regulations from 23 September 2020.

None of our content is exempt from the accessibility regulations.

If you have any problems using this website, contact LPS on DOF.Enquiries@finance-ni.gov.uk and they will investigate the issue and/or provide you with the information you need in an alternative format.

PDFs and other documents

Many documents are non-accessible in a number of ways including missing text alternatives and missing document structure.

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.

Any new PDFs or other documents LPS publish will meet the required accessibility standards.

How this web application was tested

This web application 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.

The Website Accessibility Conformance Evaluation Methodology (WCAG-EM) approach was used to decide on a sample of pages to test.

What LPS is doing to improve accessibility

LPS plans to identify and fix issues according to the timescales shown for each area above.

This statement was prepared on 27 October 2020. It was last updated on 27 October 2020.

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What to do next

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If your query is about another benefit, select ‘Other’ from the drop-down menu above.

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If your query is about another topic, select ‘Other’ from the drop-down menu above.

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For queries or advice about employment rights, contact the Labour Relations Agency.

For queries or advice about birth, death, marriage and civil partnership certificates and research, contact the General Register Office Northern Ireland (GRONI) by email gro_nisra@finance-ni.gov.uk

For queries about your GRONI account, email gro_nisra@finance-ni.gov.uk.

For queries about the High Street Spend Local Scheme, email HSSS.mail@economy-ni.gov.uk.

For queries about:

Car tax, vehicle registration and SORN
contact the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), Swansea
Driver licensing and tests, MOT and vehicle testing
contact the Driver & Vehicle Agency (DVA), Northern Ireland

If your query is about another topic, select ‘Other’ from the drop-down menu above.

For queries about your identity check, email nida@nidirect.gov.uk.

For queries or advice about passports, contact HM Passport Office.

For queries or advice about Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs), including parking tickets and bus lane PCNs, email dcu@infrastructure-ni.gov.uk

For queries or advice about pensions, contact the Northern Ireland Pension Centre.

If you wish to report a problem with a road or street you can do so online in this section.

If you wish to check on a problem or fault you have already reported, contact DfI Roads.

For queries or advice about historical, social or cultural records relating to Northern Ireland, use the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI) enquiry service.

For queries or advice about rates, email LPSCustomerTeam@lpsni.gov.uk

For queries or advice about 60+ and Senior Citizen SmartPasses (which can be used to get concessionary travel on public transport), contact Smartpass - Translink.

If you have a question about a government service or policy, you should contact the relevant government organisation directly. We don't have access to information about you.

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Accessibility statement for Land and Property Services Rates Support System (LPS RSS)