Guidance

Rural Payments Accessibility Statement

Published 2 March 2023

Applies to England

How accessible the Rural Payments service is

Parts of the Rural Payments service are not fully accessible. For example:

• Not all headings indicate the topic or purpose of the content

• There are instances of poor contrast throughout the screens

• Some images do not have suitable image descriptions

• Users of assistive technologies may not have access to information conveyed in images

• In specific instances there are no error suggestions provided

• The order of content is not always linear or meaningful affecting all users but particularly those using a screen reader or who strip out visual styling

• Some pages and supporting document attachments are not written in plain English

• PDF documents are not fully accessible

Reporting accessibility problems with the Rural Payments service and contact Information

We are always looking to improve the accessibility of the Rural Payments service. If you find any problems that are not listed on this page or think we are not meeting accessibility requirements please contact us.

You can contact us by:

Email: ruralpayments@defra.gov.uk

Telephone: 03000 200 301 (Monday to Friday, 8.30am to 5pm)

Twitter: @Ruralpay

Facebook: Rural Payments Agency

We do not currently have a text relay service for people who are deaf, hearing impaired or have a speech impediment. We also do not have the facilities for you to visit us in person.

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 are not happy with how we respond to your complaint, contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS).

Technical information about the Rural Payments service’s accessibility

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

Compliance status

This website is not compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 AA standard.

Non-accessible content

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

• 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 2.1 success criterion 1.1.1 (Non-text Content)

• Some tables, lists and headings do not have an appropriate text equivalent. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships) and 2.5.3 (Label in Name)

• The order of content is not always meaningful affecting all users but particularly those using a screen reader or who strip out visual styling. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.3.2 (Meaningful Sequence)

• Some instructions depend on sensory characteristics like shape, size, colour, or location. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.3.3 (Sensory Characteristics)

• Colour is used to distinguish between different content. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.4.1 (Use of Colour)

• Some text does not have a contrast ratio of 4:5:1 against its background colour. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.4.3 (Contrast Minimum)

• Resizing of text may affect a user’s ability to read content. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.4.4 (Resize text)

• Some information or content may be lost due to resizing or magnification. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.4.10 (Reflow)

• Some interface components do not have enough contrast. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.4.11 (Non-text Contrast)

• It is not possible to change line height, letter or word spacing. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.4.12 (Text Spacing)

• Not all tasks can be completed using a keyboard. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.1.1 (Keyboard) and 2.1.2 (No Keyboard Trap)

• A time limit of 30 minutes has been set affecting users who may require longer to undertake certain tasks. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.2.1 (Timing Adjustable)

• The skip to main content link does not work as expected. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.4.1 (Bypass Blocks)

• Not all pages have a unique title. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.4.2 (Page Titled)

• It is not possible to navigate fully through the service using a keyboard in a logical order. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.4.3 (Focus Order)

• Not all links have a clear purpose. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.4.4 (Link Purpose in Context)

• Not all headings indicate the topic or purpose of the content. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.4.6 (Headings and Labels)

• Not all areas of the site have a visible focus when using a keyboard. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.4.7 (Focus Visible)

• The written language is not identified in on some pages. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 3.1.1 (Language of Page) and 3.1.2 (Language of Parts)

• Some buttons and controls trigger an action without an explicit step and without warning. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 3.2.2 (On Input)

• Site navigation may not be consistent or logical. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 3.2.3 (Consistent navigation) and 3.2.4 (Consistent identification)

• Not all errors are easily identified. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 3.3.1 (Error Identification) and 3.3.3 (Error Suggestion)

• Instructions have not been provided for all fields that require data to be entered in a specific format. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 3.3.2 (Labels or Instructions)

• Not all interactive components have an accessible name and role. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 4.1.2 (Name, Role, Value)

• Status messages may not be easily identified by using assistive technology. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 4.1.3 (Status Messages)

What we’re doing to improve accessibility

The service is under continuous improvement, frequently upgraded and audited. We are analysing the issues identified and we will update this page when issues are fixed.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

The SFI Pilot element of the Rural Payments service was tested on 12 October 2021.

The remainder of the Rural Payments service was tested on 25 February 2022.

The service has been tested and checked for compliance with WCAG 2.1 AA by the DEFRA Digital, Data & Technology Services team.

This statement was prepared on 27 February 2023.