Assembly Information Management System (AIMS) Portal Accessibility Statement

This statement was reviewed on 18 August 2022.

This accessibility statement applies to http://aims.niassembly.gov.uk/ and http://data.niassembly.gov.uk/.

These websites have been integrated into the main Northern Ireland Assembly website - http://www.niassembly.gov.uk/ - and have been designed to look as though they are all part of the same website. However, the functionality and infrastructure of each website works differently which is why there is the need for a separate accessibility statement for each.

Some of the accessibility issues with the AIMS Portal website are common to the main website. For example, colour contrast issues and the inability to bypass the main navigation menu at the top of each page. For completeness, any such common issues will be repeated in this statement.

This website is run by the Northern Ireland Assembly Commission. We want as many people as possible to be able to use this website. For example, that means you should be able to:

change colours, contrast levels and fonts
zoom in up to 300% without the text spilling off the screen
navigate most of the website using just a keyboard
navigate most of the website using speech recognition software
listen to most of the website using a screen reader

We are aware that there are some issues with some of the above.

The website has only had limited testing using assistive technologies or assistive technology replicators. If you use assistive technology we would welcome your feedback to help us make the changes we need to make. Please email info@niassembly.gov.uk or call 028 9052 1137.

You may find the following links useful in adjusting the settings of the browser that you use to navigate our website more comfortably:

For guidance on adapting your computer to your accessibility needs, visit AbilityNet. Their site shows you how to:

Documents

We may use non-html file formats such as PDFs, Microsoft Office documents or ODF documents on our pages. If you do not have the software installed to use these formats you can consult our non-html document information to help you do so.

Read our guidance on how to open non-html document formats

Our Open data services also allow users to access the raw data of Assembly procedural information in XML, JSON, JSONP or CSV format. These files are made available to allow other people to re-use the data under terms described in the Open Government Licence, and are not an accessible format.

How accessible this website is

We are trying to make the website as accessible as possible. However, you may encounter sections that are not as easy to navigate as others.

Some form elements are missing appropriate labels.
Error messages are not clearly associated with form controls.
Form elements on the website are missing labels which means the purpose of the form may not be presented to screen readers. For example, the search box form at the top of each page.
You cannot tab through the website with your keyboard. For example, your tab position is not highlighted and it is not possible to tab through the sub-menu child elements of the main navigation menu at the top of each page. There is also no option to automatically skip the top menu while tabbing. This has been added to our work plan.
PDF documents are not fully accessible to screen reader software. PDFs accompany the HTML version of content as a printable option. The HTML version is the best option to use with assistive technologies. If you have any problems accessing or reading any documents get in touch with us and we will help you.
Decorative images do not have appropriate alternate text.
Tables are not correctly marked with table header cells.
The descriptive text of some links may be missing or limited.

Full details on everything that will present an accessibility issue can be found below in the technical information about this website’s accessibility.

Feedback and contact information

If you need information on this website in a different format like accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille:

Email: info@niassembly.gov.uk
Call: 028 9052 1137
Postal Address: Northern Ireland Assembly, Parliament Buildings, Ballymiscaw, Stormont, Belfast BT4 3XX
Textphone: 028 9052 1209 (Please note that this is a textphone number only)

We’ll consider your request and get back to you as soon as possible.

Reporting accessibility problems with this website

Maintaining an accessible site is an ongoing process and we welcome any feedback that will help us improve accessibility on the website. If you find any problems not listed on this page or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, please email info@niassembly.gov.uk or call 028 9052 1137.

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 are not happy with how we respond to your complaint, you can contact the Equality Commission.

Technical information about this website’s accessibility

The Northern Ireland Assembly 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 version 2.1 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

Images

The following images do not have an appropriate text alternative:

the decorative icons to indicate a PDF document or HTML page (see the Official Report page)
the decorative icons in the header and footer of each page
profile pictures of MLAs
pictures of MLAs on the MLA recognition page
pictures of Ministers on the Executive Ministers page
the departmental functions chart on ‘Departmental Changes Explained’ page.

This means that people using a screen reader cannot access the information. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.1.1 (non-text content). We plan to add text alternatives for all images as soon as possible.

Navigation

It is not possible to bypass the main content menu at the top of every page on the website. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.4.1 (bypass blocks). This update is on our work plan.

Tab focus is not visible while navigating a webpage using the tab key on the keyboard. Tab focus is only visible in certain form elements. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.4.7 (focus visible). This update is on our work plan.

The following pages contain elements with positive tab indexes. Tab index values of 1 or greater specify an explicit tab/navigation order for page elements. As that modifies the default tab order it can cause confusion and result in decreased keyboard accessibility. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.4.3 Focus Order

Addressing the tab order on these pages is part of our work plan.

A JavaScript jump menu is present in the dropdown menus for the pages listed below. A JavaScript jump menu is a select element that triggers a new web page with the onchange event handler. When navigating with the keyboard, each change in the select menu triggers a page change that can make navigation difficult.

Questions Search (in the dropdown menus for ‘Search Type’, ‘Tabled by’, ‘Answered by’, and ‘Period’)
Oral Questions (in the dropdown menus for ‘Session’ and ‘Month’)
Written Questions (in the dropdown menus for ‘Display questions by’, ‘Session’ and ‘Month’)
Oral Ballots (in the dropdown menus for ‘Session’ and ‘Month’)
Topical Ballots (in the dropdown menus for ‘Session’ and ‘Month’)
Weekly Written Answers (in the dropdown menus for ‘Session’ and ‘Month’)
MLA search (in the dropdown menus for ‘Search by’ and ‘Initial’).
MLA Statistics (in the dropdown menu for ‘Statistics on’)
MLA Montage (in the dropdown menus for ‘Party’, ‘Order by’, ‘Include Member Name’, ‘Include Party Name’, ‘Include only new Members’)
MLA Recognition (in the dropdown menu for ‘Questions’)
Register of Members’ Interests (in the dropdown menu for ‘MLA’)
All Party Groups (in the dropdown menu for ‘All Party Groups’)
MLA Contact Details (in the dropdown menus for ’Filter by’, ‘Member’ and ‘Address’)
Topical Ballots (in the dropdown menus for ‘Session’ and ‘Month’)
Latest Daily List Of Written Questions (in the dropdown menu for ‘Questions to:’)
Committee Search (in the dropdown menu for ‘Committee Type’)
Committee Items of Business (in the dropdown menu for ‘Committee Type’)
Members’ Attendance at Committee meetings (in the dropdown menus for ‘Session’ and ‘Committee Name’)
Minutes of Evidence (in the dropdown menus for ‘Session’ and ‘Committee’)
Official Report Search (in the dropdown menus for ‘Reports from’, ‘Contribution by’, and ‘Period’)
Official Report Search Results ie the page you see after performing an Official Report Search (in the dropdown menus for ‘Reports from’ and ‘Contribution on’)
Official Report Member Contributions (in the dropdown menus for ‘Event’, ‘Agenda Item’ and ‘MLA’)
Alphabetical List Of Subjects recorded by the Official report (in the dropdown menus for ‘Session’, ‘Debates from’ and ‘Subject’)
Index Terms Search (in the dropdown menus for ‘Tabled by’, ‘Period’, and ‘Indexed terms’
Plenary Search (in the dropdown menus for ‘Tabled by’, ‘Plenary business type’ and ‘Period’)
Plenary by Sitting Date (in the dropdown menus for ‘Session’ and ‘Month’)
Plenary by Tabled Date (in the dropdown menus for ‘Session’ and ‘Month’)
Plenary Votes on Division (in the dropdown menu for ‘Session’)
Top Index Terms (in the dropdown menu for ‘Period’)
Statutory Rules (in the dropdown menu for resolution type)

This fails 2.1.1 Keyboard (Level A) and 3.2.2 On Input (Level A). Addressing this issue is part of our work plan.

Links

The link purpose of some links on the website may not be obvious. For example, a link that is titled ‘View’ or ‘PDF’ and is separate from the content that provides the context of the link (ie in a separate paragraph or non-adjacent table cell). This can be seen on the Official Report page or in the tables produced by Minutes of Evidence searches. Also, when you perform an Indexed Terms Search, the links to answers are all the same - ‘Display answer’ and the links to services on the Open Data homepage read ‘Find out more’. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.4.4 (link purpose in context). Addressing this is on our work plan.

The MLA email details page contains empty links alongside every email link. The link is a duplicate of the adjacent email but the text of the link is empty. This fails WCAG regulation 2.4.4 Link Purpose (In Context). Removing these empty duplicate links is part of our workplan.

There is an empty link present on the ‘Locate your MLA’ page. This fails WCAG 2.4.4 Link Purpose (In Context) (Level A). Removing the empty link is part of our workplan.

The tables generated by searches of Minutes of Evidence, contain an empty link in the right-most table header cell. This fails WCAG 2.4.4 Link Purpose (In Context) (Level A). Removing these empty links is part of our workplan.

Colour

There are a number of colour contrast issues on the website that do not meet WCAG 2.1 colour contrast ratio AA standard. For example, the white text on the blue background in the main navigation menu and the colour of link text on standard pages. Adequate contrast of text is necessary for all users, especially users with low vision. This fails WCAG 2.1 Success Criterion 1.4.3 Contrast (Minimum). This update is on our work plan.

Form elements and labels

The search box at the top of the website is missing a form label. If a form control does not have a properly associated label, the function or purpose of that form control may not be presented to screen reader users. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.1.1 (Non-text Content), success criterion 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships), success criterion 2.4.6 (Headings and Labels), and success criterion 3.3.2 (Labels or Instructions). This update is on our work plan.

The following pages contain form elements with missing labels:

Business Diary (in the date picker)
All Party Group Business Diary (in the date picker)
Official Report Search (in the input box for ‘Keyword/Phrase’)
Official Report Member Contributions (in the date picker, and in the elements for ‘Event’, ‘Agenda Item’ and ‘MLA’)
Index Terms Search (in the text box for ‘Your term’ on expansion of ‘Index Term Helper’, the associated checkboxes and the ‘Keyword/Phrase’ text box)
MLA recognition (in the radio button options presented as the answer to the posed question)
Questions Search (in the input box for ‘Keyword/Phrase’)
Oral Questions (in the ‘Month’ dropdown menu)
Written Answer Subject Search (in the input box for ‘Keyword/Phrase’)
Plenary Search (in the input box for ‘Keyword/Phrase’ and the three checkboxes listed under ‘Included in’)

This fails WCAG 2.1 Success Criterion 1.1.1 Non-text Content, WCAG 2.1 Success Criterion 1.3.1 Info and Relationships, WCAG 2.1 Success Criterion 2.4.6 Headings and Labels and WCAG 2.1 Success Criterion 3.3.2 Labels or Instructions. Adding appropriate labels to these form elements is part of our work plan.

The select elements for dropdown menus on the pages listed below are missing labels.

Questions Search (in the dropdown menus for ‘Search Type’, ‘Question Type’, ‘Tabled by’, ‘Answered by’, and ‘Period’)
Oral Questions (in the dropdown menus for ‘Session’ and ‘Month’)
Written Questions (in the dropdown menus for ‘Display questions by’, ‘Session’ and ‘Month’)
Oral Ballots (in the dropdown menus for ‘Session’ and ‘Month’)
Topical Ballots (in the dropdown menus for ‘Session’ and ‘Month’)
Weekly Written Answers (in the dropdown menus for ‘Session’ and ‘Month’)
MLA search (in the dropdown menus for ‘Search by’ and ‘Initial’).
MLA Statistics (in the dropdown menu for ‘Statistics on’)
MLA Montage (in the dropdown menus for ‘Party’, ‘Order by’, ‘Include Member Name’, ‘Include Party Name’, ‘Include only new Members’)
MLA Recognition (in the dropdown menu for ‘Questions’)
Register of Members’ Interests (in the dropdown menu for ‘MLA’)
All Party Groups (in the dropdown menu for ‘All Party Groups’)
MLA Contact Details (in the dropdown menus for ’Filter by’, ‘Member’ and ‘Address’)
Topical Ballots (in the dropdown menus for ‘Session’ and ‘Month’)
Latest Daily List Of Written Questions (in the dropdown menu for ‘Questions to:’)
Committee Search (in the dropdown menu for ‘Committee Type’)
Committee Items of Business (in the dropdown menu for ‘Committee Type’)
Members’ Attendance at Committee meetings (in the dropdown menus for ‘Session’ and ‘Committee Name’)
Minutes of Evidence (in the dropdown menus for ‘Session’ and ‘Committee’)
Official Report Search (in the dropdown menus for ‘Reports from’, ‘Contribution by’, and ‘Period’)
Official Report Search Results ie the page you see after performing an Official Report Search (in the dropdown menus for ‘Reports from’ and ‘Contribution on’)
Official Report Member Contributions (in the dropdown menus for ‘Event’, ‘Agenda Item’ and ‘MLA’)
Alphabetical List Of Subjects recorded by the Official report (in the dropdown menus for ‘Session’, ‘Debates from’ and ‘Subject’)
Index Terms Search (in the dropdown menus for ‘Tabled by’, ‘Period’, and ‘Indexed terms’
Plenary Search (in the dropdown menus for ‘Tabled by’, ‘Plenary business type’, ‘Motion category’, ‘Motion type’, ‘Include Bill amendments’, ‘Period’ and ‘Match’ exclude some for JS Jump)
Plenary by Sitting Date (in the dropdown menus for ‘Session’ and ‘Month’)
Plenary by Tabled Date (in the dropdown menus for ‘Session’ and ‘Month’)
Plenary Votes on Division (in the dropdown menu for ‘Session’)
Top Index Terms (in the dropdown menu for ‘Period’)
Statutory Rules (in the dropdown menu for resolution type)

A select element is an HTML control for selecting among a set of options. An accessible name allows assistive technologies to associate it with a specific object. Assistive technologies can then refer to the object by name, not just by type. This fails 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (Level A), 2.4.6 Headings and Labels (Level AA), 3.3.2 Labels or Instructions (Level A). Adding appropriate labels is part of our work plan.

The images and information that are displayed when performing an MLA search, contain empty labels. A label element that is associated with a form control but does not contain text will not present any information about the form control to the user. In this case the empty labels don’t seem necessary to the functionality. This fails WCAG regulations 1.1.1 Non-text Content, 1.3.1 Info and Relationships, 2.4.6 Headings and Labels and 3.3.2 Labels or Instructions. Removing or adding appropriate text to the labels is part of our work plan.

Heading levels

The pages listed below contain skipped heading levels. This fails WCAG regulations 1.3.1 Info and Relationships, 2.4.1 Bypass Blocks and 2.4.6 Headings and Labels.

MLA search (The main title is a H1 and the MLA names produced in search results are H4 which means that H2 and H3 have been skipped - see screenshot below)
Executive Ministers page (The main title is a H1 and the Minister names are H4 which means that H2 and H3 have been skipped)
All Party Groups (heading structure needs revised to nest headings accurately and consistently)
Official Report (H2 heading level has been skipped, therefore subsequent heading levels need updated - see screenshot below)
Official Report Search (the ‘Previous Sessions’ header in the sidebar should be H2 and not H3)
Minutes of Evidence Search (the ‘Previous Sessions’ header in the sidebar should be H2 and not H3)
Alphabetical List Of Subjects recorded by the Official report (the ‘Previous Sessions’ header in the sidebar should be H2 and not H3)
Assembly Open Data homepage (the subheadings begin at H3, when they should begin at H2)
Members Web Service Documentation (subheading is H3, when it should be H2)
Questions Web Service Documentation (subheading is H3, when it should be H2)
Questions Bulk Downloads (subheading is H3, when it should be H2)
Questions Web Service Documentation (subheading is H3, when it should be H2)
Organisations Web Service Documentation (subheading is H3, when it should be H2)
Plenary Web Service Documentation (subheading is H3, when it should be H2)
Hansard Web Service Documentation (subheading is H3, when it should be H2)

The following pages contain two empty h2 headings at the top of the page:

Also:

The Latest Daily List Of Written Questions page contains two empty h3 at the top of the page and an empty h3 at the bottom of the page.
The Statutory Rules page contains an empty h2 at the bottom of the page

This fails WCAG 2.1 1.3.1 Info and Relationships, 2.4.1 Bypass Blocks and 2.4.6 Headings and Labels. Updating the heading levels appropriately is part of our work plan.

The heading levels in the footer that appears at the bottom of every page are all h4 (Find Your MLA, News and Media, Follow the Assembly and Subscribe) and h5 (Assembly Business, Your MLAs, News and media, Visit and Learning, About the Assembly, Corporate Information and Accessibility). This does not allow the page as a whole to follow a logical heading order. This fails WCAG 2.1 Success Criterion 1.3.1 Info and Relationships, WCAG 2.1 Success Criterion 2.4.1 Bypass Blocks and WCAG 2.1 Success Criterion 2.4.6 Headings and Labels. Updating the heading levels in the footer to permit pages to have a logical heading order is part of our work plan.

Tables

The tables on the MLA statistics page do not have an assigned header row and contain empty cells. This makes it hard for assistive technologies to read the content. This fails WCAG 2.1 1.3.1 Info and Relationships and 1.3.2 Meaningful Sequence. Adjusting the tables appropriately is on our workplan.

The table produced by a search of top index terms does not contain a table header row. Assigning a table header helps assistive technologies accurately interpret the data. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criteria 1.3.1 Info and Relationships and 1.3.2 Meaningful Sequence. Adding an appropriate header row to the table is part of our work plan.

The tables generated by searches of Minutes of Evidence, contain a header row with an empty cell. The table header helps associate table cells with the correct content and a header cell that contains no text means that the context of the column below gets lost. This fails WCAG Success Criterion 1.3.1 Info and Relationships. Adding appropriate text to the cell is part of our work plan.

A layout table can be found on the following pages:

The table content does not require it to be laid out using a table. This fails 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (Level A) and 1.3.2 Meaningful Sequence (Level A). Displaying the information in a more accessible manner is part of our work plan.

PDFs

PDF versions of Committee meeting minutes of evidence and Plenary session transcripts are not accessible. Each of these documents is accompanied by an accessible HTML equivalent, which is the primary version, with a PDF made available for printing purposes. However, the Index Terms Search Help is currently only available as an inaccessible PDF. Adding a more accessible HTML version is part of our work plan.

Pages without language set or a heading structure

The Assembly Open Data services allows users to download Assembly data in its raw form via XML and JSON files. The pages that allow users to download the various files do not have a language set or a heading structure.

This applies to the following pages:

This fails WCAG 2.1 success criteria 3.1.1 Language of Page, 1.3.1 Info and Relationships and 2.4.6 Headings and Labels. Setting the appropriate language and adding a heading structure to these pages is part of the work plan.

Content that is not within the scope of the accessibility regulations

The content listed below is exempt from the accessibility regulations and may not meet the accessibility requirements:

PDFs or other documents published before 23 September 2018.
Online map of MLA constituency office addresses. Online maps are exempt from the regulations. However a tabular version of Constituency Office contact details is provided as an alternative.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 18 August 2022. It was last reviewed on 18 August 2022.

This website was last tested during August 2022. The test was carried out by members of the Web Team in the Assembly’s Communications Office. We used this approach to deciding on a sample of pages to test:

The website contains a lot of pages broken down into different sections depending on Assembly business. Much of the content in each section is predictable and created using templates. A selection of different pages and content was selected from each section in the knowledge that the results of any testing would uncover trends over that particular section as a whole. A number of pages that contain content that is unique to any other page on the site were also identified and selected for individual testing.

This selection of pages was then tested by members of the Web Team using information interpreted from guidance on the UK Government website (gov.uk) and the details of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 published on w3.org. The WAVE Web Accessibility Evaluation Tool, the axe DevTools browser extension and the Accessibility Insights for Web browser extension were used for identifying and testing webpage accessibility issues. By the end of the testing process the majority of pages on the website were tested.

The site was not tested with any assistive technologies, only assistive technology emulators. If you do experience any other issues or you think that anything has been missed from this statement, please let us know.

If you have specific access issues with any of our information, please get in touch and we will evaluate and get back to you on how we will change delivery of the content or provide it in an alternative format, if possible.

This accessibility statement applies only to the AIMS portal (http://aims.niassembly.gov.uk/ and http://data.niassembly.gov.uk/) and not to the main Assembly website (http://www.niassembly.gov.uk/). The AIMS portal is a separate site that has been designed to appear as though it is an integrated part of the main website. There is a separate accessibility statement for niassembly.gov.uk.