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Accessibility statement

This statement applies to content published on the www.finance-ni.gov.uk domain. It does not apply to content on finance-ni.gov.uk subdomains or third-party domains hosting finance-ni services.

This website is run by the Department of Finance. It is designed to be used by as many people as possible. We’ve made the website text as simple as possible to understand. You should be able to:

  • Zoom in up to 300% without loss of functionality or readability
  • Navigate most of the website using just a keyboard
  • Use speech recognition software to navigate most of the website
  • Listen to 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 have missing form labels (e.g., the application form has three missing form labels)

How to request content in an accessible format

If you need information in a different format, contact us by email and include:

  • The web address (URL) of the content
  • Your name and email address
  • The format you need you require(e.g., audio CD, braille, British Sign Language(BSL) or large print, accessible PDF)

Reporting accessibility problems with this website

We are committed to improving the accessibility of this website. If you encounter any issues not listed on this page, or believe we are not meeting accessibility requirements, please contact us by email. We will investigate the issue and aim to resolve it promptly.

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 in Northern Ireland.

These regulations require public sector websites and mobile applications to meet at least WCAG 2.1 AA standards (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1). Learn more about WCAG 2.1 (opens in a new tab)

If you are not satisfied with how we respond to your accessibility complaint, you can contact the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland (ECNI) for further advice:

Technical information about this website’s accessibility

The Department of Finance 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 (WCAG) version 2.1 AA standard (opens in a new tab) due to the non-compliances listed below.

Non-accessible content

Some content on this website is not fully accessible. The issues listed below are due to non-compliance with the accessibility regulations.

We are currently reviewing and testing content to identify and address these issues.

For each issue, we aim to provide:

  • A description of the accessibility problem
  • The relevant WCAG 2.1 success criteria it fails to meet
  • Our planned timeline for fixing it

Examples of non-accessible content:

Developer issues

There is currently one known accessibility issue that will require developer and web design input:

  • Missing form labels on the valuation application form (WCAG 2.1, Level AA, Success Criterion 2.4.6) – planned fix by December 2025

Documents

This website does not currently host any PDFs, Word documents or other downloadable files.

Any new documents we publish will meet the required accessibility standards, including proper structure and compatibility with assistive technologies.

Images

We are committed to ensuring that all new images published on this website meet accessibility standards. This includes providing alt text and avoiding the use of images that convey essential information without a text alternative.

Disproportionate burden

We have assessed our obligations under the accessibility regulations and determined that claiming disproportionate burden is not applicable to any part of this website.

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

This website was originally published before 23 September 2018. In accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018, we have taken steps to ensure it meets accessibility standards and continue to monitor and improve accessibility.

Some content is exempt from these regulations. Specifically:

  • Maps, which are not required to be fully accessible. This includes the OSNI map provided by ESRI, embedded via an iFrame.

If you have trouble accessing any of this content, please contact us by email. We will investigate the issue and, where possible, provide the information in an alternative format.

PDFs and other documents

This website does not currently host any PDF, Word, or other downloadable documents. If such documents are added in the future, we will ensure they meet accessibility standards, including proper structure and compatibility with assistive technologies.

How we tested this website

This website has been tested for compliance with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 level A and level AA. These tests have been carried out internally using automated and manual methods based on a structured approach based on the Website Accessibility Conformance Evaluation Methodology (WCAG-EM).

The latest test was conducted on 18th September 2025 and the tools used are as follows:

  • WAVE (automated accessibility checker)
  • NVDA (screen reader)
  • Voice Access (Windows 11 built-in speech recognition)

Please note that user experience may vary depending on the assistive technologies and software used.

We continue to monitor and test the website to ensure ongoing compliance and identify areas for improvement.

What we are doing to improve accessibility

We are committed to identifying and fixing accessibility issues in line with the timescales outlined in this statement and will continue to monitor and improve accessibility on an ongoing basis.

This statement was prepared on 15 September 2020. It was last reviewed on 13 October 2025.