Accessibility statement for Rates Online Service

This Accessibility Statement applies to Land & Property Services - Rates Online which is a web-based/mobile-based application.

Contents

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The Rates Online Application is run by Land & Property Services. This service is accessed from the nidirect website. There’s a separate accessibility statement for the main nidirect website (opens in a new tab).

It is designed to be used by as many people as possible.

When accessing the application through the web browser, you should be able to:

• navigate most of the it using just a keyboard
• navigate most of it using speech recognition software
• use most of it using a screen reader (including the most recent versions of JAWS, NVDA and VoiceOver)

Text should be clear and easy to understand.

How accessible is this website

We know that some parts of this application are not fully accessible on Desktop or Mobile Devices:

• pages may be non-responsive or take additional time to load
• there is a loss of information and functionality at 400% zoom
• visual focus may be intermittent
• error prompts may not appear as expected

Feedback and reporting accessibility issues

We are always looking to improve the accessibility of this application. If you find any problems not listed in this statement or think Land & Property Services - Rates Online is not meeting accessibility requirements, you should escalate these to customer.services@lpsni.gov.uk, by phone at 0300 200 7805 or by writing to Corporate Correspondence and Complaints Unit, Land & Property Services, Lanyon Plaza, 7 Lanyon Place, Belfast, BT1 3LP.

If you need information in a different format contact us by either calling the nidirect contact centre who handle calls on behalf of Land & Property Services on 0300 200 7801, or by email at dof.enquiries@finance-ni.gov.uk and provide:

• 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

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’).

If you’re not happy with how your complaint has been responded to, contact the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland (ECNI) (opens in a new tab)

Technical information about the accessibility of the application

Land & Property Services is committed to making this web-based application accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.

Compliance status

This web-based application has been tested against the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 standard.

This web-based application system is partially compliant with the WCAG22 (opens in a new tab) WCAG21 (opens in a new 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

Perceivable

Level AA 1.4.10 (reflow) - information is lost at 400% zoom. This results in the application being non-responsive and struggling to maintain readability. Due to system design this cannot be fixed.

Level AA 1.4.10 (reflow) - at 400% zoom the sidebar navigation content is read out but there is no visual feedback. Due to system design this cannot be fixed.

Level A 1.3.1 (info and relationships) - when navigating to the left side menu and reaching user details, the entire menu is read out. This could lead to confusion for a screen reader user. Expected to be fixed by 31st of March 2026.

Level A 1.3.1 (info and relationships) - When an Empty table header is present - screen readers will call out blank, this cannot be fixed as it is an issue with the screen reader.

Level A 1.1.1 (non-text content) - Visual Representation: Rates Online Link appears as a standalone header. Due to system design this cannot be fixed.

Operable

Level A 2.1.1 (keyboard) - the user may be unable to decline cookies. User will be expected to Accept to continue.

Level A 2.4.3 (focus order) - while navigating through pages, the focus order is illogical at times which effects meaning and operability. Expected to be fixed by 31st of March 2026.

Disproportionate burden

Not applicable.

What we are doing to improve accessibility

Maintaining an accessible service is an ongoing process and we are continually working to offer an accessible and user-friendly experience.

How accessibility testing was done

This web-based application has been tested for compliance using the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.2 level AA and EU Accessibility Directive.

These tests were carried out externally and independently by Expleo.

This application was last tested in October 2025.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 7th November 2025.

It was last reviewed on 24th November 2025.