Accessibility

We are committed to ensuring the information on our websites is accessible to everyone, including those with disabilities. We aim for a high level of usability for everyone across all of our websites, following best practice accessibility guidelines where possible.

This statement outlines our ongoing efforts to maintain a website that conforms to the international WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility standards, developed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), and complies with relevant legislation in the European Union.

Below is information about our websites, including ways to help increase accessibility for all our users.

Using our website

Our websites are designed to meet accessibility standards as defined by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). 

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 (including the most recent versions of JAWS, NVDA and VoiceOver)

Links

We aim to ensure all text links are written, so they make sense when read out of context.

How accessible this website is

Parts of this website are not fully accessible, for example:

  • some document attachments are not clearly written
  • some heading elements are not consistent
  • some error messages are not clearly associated with form controls
  • some of the features within the site are not fully accessible by keyboard
  • some documents are in PDF format and are not accessible
  • some images may include text on the image

We’ve also made the website text as simple as possible to understand.

AbilityNet has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability. 

Changing the font size on our website, read aloud feature using the browser features

You can change the text size in most browsers by holding the Ctrl (Cmd on Mac) key on your keyboard and using the plus and minus keys or within URL tab where you can use magnifining glass feature, Read aloud feature.

Translating our website to another language using the browser

To translate the page right click your mouse and select Translate feature.

Navigating using keys

You can navigate around this website using the tab key on your keyboard.

Changing the font size on our website

You can change the text size in most browsers by holding the Ctrl (Cmd on Mac) key on your keyboard and using the plus and minus keys.

Enforcement procedure

The Equalities 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 we respond to your complaint, please contact  Equalities Commission for Northern Ireland (ECNI)

Technical information about this website’s accessibility

We are committed to making this website accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.

Compliance status

https://www.stopsmokingni.info is fully compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 AA standard.

What we’re doing to improve accessibility

We are increasing accessibility training and guidance for our web publishers and digital content editors. Any new content added to our site will be reviewed using online accessibly tools to ensure compliance.

We aim to resolve any outstanding accessibility issues by 31/12/2024.

PDFs and other documents

Many of our older PDFs and Word documents do not meet accessibility standards – for example, they may not be structured so they’re accessible to a screen reader. This does not meet WCAG 2.1 success criterion 4.1.2 (name, role value).

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 Word documents we publish will meet accessibility standards.

Feedback and contact information

We value your feedback. If you encounter any accessibility barriers while using our website or have suggestions for improvement, please contact us.

We are committed to addressing any concerns and ensuring a positive user experience for all visitors.