The Public Health Agency (PHA) is committed to making its drugsandalcoholni.info website accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018. This accessibility statement applies to drugsandalcoholni.info
Our Commitment
We are continuously working towards making drugsandalcoholni.info an inclusive and user-friendly platform. Our goal is to provide equal access to information and services for all visitors, including those with disabilities. We strive to ensure that our website is usable and accessible to the widest possible audience.
This website is administered by the Public Health Agency. 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 (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.
Ongoing Improvements
We understand that accessibility is an ongoing process, and we are dedicated to continually improving our website’s accessibility. We regularly review our content and design to identify areas for enhancement.
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 at pha.web@hscni.net.
We are committed to addressing any concerns and ensuring a positive user experience for all visitors.
Compliance status
This website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.2 AA standard, due to the non-compliance listed below.
WCAG 1.1.1 Non-text content
WCAG 1.3.1 Info and Relationships
WCAG 1.4.3 Contrast (minimum)
WCAG 1.4.4 Resize Text
WCAG 2.1.1 Keyboard
WCAG 2.4.4 Link Purpose (In Context)
WCAG 2.4.6 Headings and Labels
WCAG 3.1 Readable
WCAG 3.3.1 Error Identification
WCAG 3.3.2 Labels or Instructions
WCAG 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value
Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations
- Some document attachments are not clearly written – WCAG 3.1 Readable
- The logos within some document attachments do not have alternative text – WCAG 1.1.1 Non-text content
- Some heading elements are not consistent – WCAG 2.4.6 Headings and Labels
- Some error messages are not clearly associated with form controls – WCAG 3.3.1 Error Identification
- Some documents are in PDF/Word/Excel format and are not accessible – WCAG 1.1.1 Non-text content
- Some pages contain link text that does not always make sense when removed from the context of the page e.g. “Click Here” and “Read more”. – WCAG 2.4.4 Link Purpose
- Some pages contain text which is not as simple as possible to understand. – WCAG 3.1 Readable
- The contrast of some elements do not meet minimum contrast ratio thresholds – WCAG 1.4.3 Contrast (minimum)
- Some image elements do not have alternative text – WCAG 1.1.1 Non-text content
- Some links do not have discernible text – WCAG 2.4.4 Link Purpose (In Context)
- On some pages Zooming and scaling has been disabled – WCAG 1.4.4 Resize Text
- Some form elements do not have a visible label – WCAG 3.3.2 Labels or Instructions
- Some page content is not contained by landmarks – WCAG 1.3.1 Info and Relationships
What we’re doing to improve accessibility
We are increasing accessibility training and guidance for our web publishers. 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 31/03/2026.
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.
Preparation of this accessibility statement
This statement was prepared on 18/02/2025. It was last reviewed on 18/02/2025
This website was last tested on 18/02/2025. We have done a basic check using in-house expertise, applying the international WCAG 2.2 AA accessibility standards
How we tested this website
We used an automated on-page accessibility tool (WAVE) to test a small selection of pages. The pages chosen included:
- Homepage
- Contact Us
- Self Help
- Family Support
There may be other issues that our testing has not picked up. The website will be tested more thoroughly and systematically and this statement will be updated as required.
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)