Accessibility statement for Farming Connect

This accessibility statement applies to information on the Farming Connect website and associated specialist business support sections of the website. Farming Connect is a specialist service of the Business Wales website. 

Each specialist service throughout the Business Wales website has its own accessibility page. It outlines how accessible the service is, how to report problems and how to request information in an alternative format. You can access these pages from the footer inside the individual service’s web pages. 

Using this website 

This website is run by Business Wales. 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 400% 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 

  • use most of the website using a screen reader (including the most recent versions of JAWS, NVDA and VoiceOver) 

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. 

How accessible this website is 

We know some parts of this website are not fully accessible: 

  • some pages and document attachments are not clearly written 

  • hyperlinks won’t reflow above 300% 

  • some tables do not have row headers 

  • some heading elements are not consistent 

  • some page titles are not unique 

  • some form labels are not unique 

  • some images do not have good alternative text 

  • some link text does not describe the purpose of the link 

  • many documents are in PDF format and are not accessible 

Business Wales 

Request information in a different format 

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

We'll need you to tell us: 

  • the web address (URL) of the information you need 

  • your email address and name 

  • the format you would like to receive - for example, plain text, braille, BSL, large print or audio CD 

  • which assistive technologies you use 

You can request a PDF in an accessible format from its page. Click ‘Request an accessible format’ to contact the organisation that published the document. 

We’ll review your request and get back to you in 7 working days. 

Feedback and contact information 

We’re always looking to improve the accessibility of this website. If you find any problems that are not listed on this page or think we’re not meeting the requirements of the accessibility regulations, contact us on one of the ways below:  

We'll need you to tell us: 

  • the web address (URL) of the page you think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements 

  • why you think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements 

We’ll review your request and get back to you in 7 working days. 

 

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

 

Contacting us by phone or visiting us in person 

Ofcom requires all landline and mobile telephone companies to provide a number of services for customers with disabilities. You can use the text relay service of your choice to contact Farming Connect. 

Our offices have audio induction loops, or if you contact us before your visit, we will make every effort to arrange a British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter. Just contact us on one of the ways below:  

We'll need you to tell us: 

  • who you are 

  • how we can help you 

We’ll review your request and get back to you in 7 working days. 

 

Technical information about this website’s accessibility 

Farming Connect 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 partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 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 

Success Criteria failed: WCAG 2.1 AA 2.4.6 

  • Issue: Some pages include empty headings. Headings should not be empty.  

Success Criteria failed: WCAG 2.1 A 1.1.1 and WCAG 2.1 A 1.2.1 

  • Issue: Some paged include images with Alt text as the file name. Alt text should not be an image file name.  

  • Issue: Alt text should not contain placeholders like ‘picture’ or ‘spacer’.  

Success Criteria failed: WCAG 2.1 A 1.1.1 

  • Issue: Some pages have non-accessible image elements. Image elements must have an accessible name.  

Success Criteria failed: WCAG 2.1 A 2.4.4 

  • Issue: Link uses general text such as ‘Click Here’ with no surrounding text that explains the links purpose.  

Success Criteria failed: WCAG 2.1 A 2.4.4, WCAG 2.1 A 4.2.9 and WCAG 2.1 A 4.1.2 

  • Each <a> element must contain text or an image with an Alt attribute.  

Success Criteria failed: WCAG 2.1 A 1.3.1 

  • Issue: Several links on a page share the same link text and surrounding context, however, leas to different destinations. 

  • Issue: Identify row and column headers in data tables using table header elements and mark layout tables with role = presentation 

Success Criteria failed: WCAG 2.1 A 2.1.1 

  • Issue: All onmouseout handlers should have an equivalent onblur handler. 

  • Issue: All onmouseout handlers should have the equivalent onfocus handler.  

Success Criteria failed: WCAG 2.1 A 4.1.1  

  • Issue: Duplicate ID – The same ID is used on more than one element.   

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations 

The technologies listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons: Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations 

Success criteria failed: WCAG 1.4.12 (Text Spacing) 

  • Issue: Users cannot change text spacing or line height, which is essential for those with visual impairments who require custom text formatting for legibility. 

Disproportionate burden 

The Farming Connect website is currently changing to the new GOV.WALES GEL experience. The above content and website issues will be addressed as part of this exercise and re-tested after completion. This work should be completed in quarter 2 of 2024. 

We believe that doing so earlier will be a disproportionate burden.  

Interactive tools and transactions 

There are no known non-accessible Interactive tools and transactions on Farming Connect. If you believe some of our Interactive tools and transactions are non-accessible. Please contact us on one of the ways below:  

We'll need you to tell us: 

  • the web address (URL) of the page you think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements 

  • why you think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements 

We’ll review your request and get back to you in 7 working days. 

What we are doing to improve accessibility 

Following the audit conducted by S8080 in January 2022, Farming Connect are urgently fixing content which fails to meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 AA standard. 

PDFs and other documents 

New documents we publish to access our services should be fully accessible. 

However, we know that some of our older documents (published before 23 September 2018) are not accessible. For example, some of them: 

  • are not marked up in a way that allows screen reader users to understand them 

  • are not tagged up properly, for example they do not contain proper headings 

  • are not written in plain English 

Some of these are historic documents and are not essential to providing our services. These types of documents are exempt from the regulations. We do not currently have any plans to make them accessible. 

If you need to access information in one of these document types, please contact us on one of the ways below and ask for an alternative format. 

We'll need you to tell us: 

  • the web address (URL) of the information you need 

  • the format you would like to receive 

  • which assistive technologies you use 

We’ll review your request and get back to you in 7 working days. 

Preparation of this accessibility statement 

This statement was prepared on 4 January 2024 to replace the previous accessibility statement. The statement was last reviewed on 4 January 2024. 

How we tested the website 

This website was last tested on 15 January 2022. The test was carried out by S8080. 

On the 15 January 2022 S8080 used SortSite Desktop to scan over 8775 of our pages for compliancy to level A and AA of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines Version 2.1. The scan included a combination of core pages, commonly used templates and complex templates. 

We tested our main website platform, available at  

https://businesswales.gov.wales/farmingconnect/