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This accessibility statement applies to www.belfastcity.gov.uk. This website is run by Belfast City Council.
We’ve also made the website text as simple as possible to understand and it is approved by Plain English Campaign (link opens in new window) on an annual basis. My Computer My Way (link opens in a new window) has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability.
We know some parts of this website are not fully accessible. You can see a full list of any issues we currently know about in the Non-accessible content section of this statement.
As part of our commitment to promoting equality of opportunity and good relations, we want to make sure everyone can access this website. You can get all our webpages in different languages and formats by:
We’ll consider your request and get back to you within ten working days.
We want to improve the accessibility of this website. If you find any problems or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, email us at webmaster@belfastcity.gov.uk
Tell us what part of the website you are visiting, what you are trying to do and what is preventing you from doing what you need to do. If possible, tell us what device and which browser you’re using. We will get back to you within three working days.
Read tips on contacting organisation about inaccessible websites.
The Equality Commission for Northern Ireland (ECNI) (link opens in new window) is responsible for enforcing the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018 (link opens in new window) (the ‘accessibility regulations’) in Northern Ireland. If you’re not happy with how we respond to your request or complaint, call ECNI on 028 9050 0600 and ask to speak with one of their Discrimination Advice Officers in their Legal Division, or email information@equalityni.org.
Find out how to contact us.
We provide a video relay service for people who are deaf, hearing impaired or have a speech impediment. You can access this online or at some of our venues. Find out more about this service.
Our offices have audio induction loops, or if you contact us before your visit, we can arrange a British Sign Language (BSL) or Irish Sign Language (ISL) interpreter.
Belfast City Council is committed to making its website accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018 (link opens in a new window).
This website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.2 (link opens in new window) AA standard, due to the non-compliances and exemptions listed below.
The content listed below is non-accessible for these reasons.
Belfast City Council makes use of automated tooling to assist with accessibility issue identification. An accessibility report on 26 July 2024 from the ‘Silktide’ testing tool has identified these issues.
Several PDFs and other documents across the website are not accessible. Some of these predate the regulations and are listed in the “Content that’s not within scope” section of this statement.
Others were published after 2018 or are otherwise used for active administrative purposes. These PDFs are inaccessible. If you need them in another format, email webmaster@belfastcity.gov.uk. They are:
It is a legal requirement to publish our financial reports.
The job application form is in Word format and the job application pack, including job description and terms and conditions of employment, is in PDF. Help is available for you and we can provide these documents in other formats if you need them.
If you have a disability, or your first language is not English, and you need help with any aspect of our recruitment and selection process, email jobs@belfastcity.gov.uk or call 028 9027 0640 during office hours (9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday, closed bank and other public holidays).
We use Microsoft Bookings to schedule appointments for:
There are parts of this application that are not fully accessible:
Microsoft last updated its accessibility statement for this product on 11 October 2023.
We will continually review our online forms. If you need any help with carrying out a task on our website, contact the service or email equality@belfastcity.gov.uk.
Civica provides Modern.Gov (link opens in new window), where you can search for minutes of council and committee meetings. Civica has carried out an accessibility review and states that the majority of pages were compliant at WCAG 2.1 (link opens in new window) AA level, with the exception of the calendar functionality which has now been disabled on this site.
Modern.Gov was tested using a range of accessibility assessment tools across different web browsers and cross-checked against accessibility standards to identify improvements.
Modern.Gov uses the PDF file format to display agendas and minutes. We are investigating options for publishing these in a more accessible format. Email democraticservices@belfastcity.gov.uk or call 028 9027 0434 if you need this is another format.
Our engagement platform, Your Say (link opens in new window) is supplied by Bang the Table Pty Ltd and is built on the Engagement HQ platform. View the Your Say accessibility statement (link opens in new window).
Our Online Funding Hub (link opens in new window) is supplied by Decision Time. If you need any help, email our Central Grants Unit at cgugrants@belfastcity.gov.uk.
NIHMO (link opens in new window) is a regional solution for landlords for houses of multiple occupancy. The supplier is Idox.
We know that the website has these issues:
If you find an issue that we have yet to identify, contact us using one of the routes described in the ‘Reporting accessibility problems with this website’ section of this statement.
At this time, we have not made any disproportionate burden claims for this website.
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. For example, we do not plan to fix our financial statements published before 2018.
Some of our PDFs are essential to providing our services. For example, we have PDFs which are necessary for organising cremations and need physical signatures.
These forms need to be completed in hard copy. Forms A and H need to be sworn and signed in the presence of a commissioner for oaths. If you need any help with these forms, call 028 9027 0296 or email webmaster@belfastcity.gov.uk.
We do not intend to replace these with online forms. Two pieces of legislation which govern how these forms are to be completed, are:
The Local Development plan and other planning documents comprise over 300 PDFs and other documents. Some of these documents contain information provided by third-parties as well as online maps used for planning purposes. Additionally, some of these documents predate the regulations.
In accordance with the Planning Act (Northern Ireland) 2011 (link opens in new window) and The Planning (Local Development Plan) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2015 (link opens in new window), we are required to make, publish and provide access to the documents that form part of the Local Development Plan and supporting Evidence Base.
If you need any of these PDFs in another format, email planning@belfastcity.gov.uk or call 028 9050 0510.
We have an obligation to publish a Road Closure Notice and have a copy of the application available for inspection. The Traffic Management Plan (TMP) is part of the application - (Paragraph 3 (4) (e) – The Notice must specify alternative routes for traffic and pedestrians, these can only be obtained from TMPs.
This may contain images or PDF files of the traffic management plan to be used during the road closure, without an alternative from third party companies. These documents may be covered by the online maps exemption where these documents are used for works purposes, not navigation.
Should you need these plans in an alternative format, email Building Control at buildingcontrollicensing@belfastcity.gov.uk or call 028 9027 0650.
Public-i offers the webcasts of the council meetings (link opens in new window). This website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.2 AA standard. Read Public-i’s accessibility statement (link opens in new window).
If you need any help, contact Democratic Services on 028 9027 0434 or email us at webcast@belfastcity.gov.uk and we will respond to your email within two working days.
We have reviewed the issues identified in the last audit and have split those into actions we can solve, and actions that require changes by our supplier. We plan to address these issues by 30 July 2024.
We are using automated checks to alert us if something falls below the standard.
We commissioned a manual accessibility audit of our websites in March 2024. We are implementing these changes and will complete a retest if required.
We contact our suppliers to assess their compliance with the legislation. We are also approaching organisations that request we publish their documents on our website, to discuss how we can present their information in an accessible way.
This statement was prepared on 27 July 2020. It was last reviewed on 26 July 2024. We will continue to review our accessibility status monthly and update the statement when needed.
This website was last tested on 26 July 2024 using our automated accessibility testing tool Silktide. We scanned 4178 pages and 350 documents on our site.
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