Accessibility statement

This accessibility statement applies to Southwark Council website. 

This website is run by Southwark Council. 

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. 

How accessible this website is 

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

• some non-decorative images do not have appropriate alternative text
• decorative imagery contains inappropriate alternative text
• empty headings are present
• tables are not marked up correctly
• content is not displayed in a logical order when styling is disabled
• text does not meet sufficient contrast requirements
• text cannot be resized by the browser without loss of functionality
• two-dimensional scrolling is present on some pages
• some user interface elements do not meet contrast requirements against the background
• a ‘Skip to Main Content’ link is not present
• headings are not appropriately structured across the site
• the tabbing order of the website may not always be logical 
• empty links are present
• some elements are hidden by other content when they receive keyboard focus

Feedback and contact information 

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

• email contentdesign@southwark.gov.uk 

We’ll consider your request and get back to you in 10 days. 

Reporting accessibility problems with this website 

We’re always looking to improve the accessibility of this website. If you find any problems not listed on this page or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, complete the Website Feedback Form. Feedback will be reviewed by the Southwark Web/Digital Team. 

Contacting us by phone or visiting us in person 

We provide a text relay service for people who are D/deaf, hearing impaired or have a speech impediment. 

Our offices have audio induction loops, or if you contact us before your visit, we can arrange a British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter. 

Find out how to contact us.

Technical information about this website’s accessibility 

Compliance status

This website is not compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.2 AA standard.

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

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

1. Some images do not have a text alternative, so people using a screen reader cannot access the information. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.1.1 Non-text Content.  
2. Decorative images have informative alternative attributes, which presents unnecessary information to screen reader users. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.1.1 Non-text Content.  
3. Headings and emphasized text are not marked up appropriately, which may cause screen readers to announce them incorrectly. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.3.1 Info and Relationships.  
4. Tables are not marked up correctly in Word documents, which may result in screen readers announcing them incorrectly. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.3.1 Info and Relationships.  
5. Text does not meet sufficient contrast requirements against the page background. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.4.3 Contrast (Minimum). 
6. Rendering issues are present with text when zooming text only to 200% using browser zoom controls. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.4.4 Resize Text.  
7. Two-dimensional scrolling is required to access page content when zooming the page to 400% with a browser width of 1280px. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.4.10 Reflow.  
8. Some non-textual content lacks contrast against the background page. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.4.11 Non-Text Contrast.  
9. Some content is inaccessible when using a keyboard to navigate the site. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 2.1.1 Keyboard.  
10. A ‘Skip to Main Content’ link or similar is not present within the site to allow keyboard and assistive technology users to bypass repeated navigational components across the site. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 2.4.1 Bypass Blocks.  
11. A correctly formed heading structure is not present to facilitate navigation across the site, with skipped or no heading levels present. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 2.4.1 Bypass Blocks.  
12. Frame elements are not appropriately titled which may result in unexpected announcements by screen readers. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 2.4.1 Bypass Blocks.  
13. Page titles are not sufficiently descriptive or informative which may cause navigation issues between tabs. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 2.4.2 Page Titled.  
14. The focus order of the page is not logical. Users who rely on a keyboard access for operating a page benefit from a logical, usable focus order. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 2.4.3 Focus Order.  
15. Empty links that contain no text or images without an alternative text are present. The function or purpose of these links will not be presented to screen reader users. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 2.4.4 Link Purpose (In Context).  
16. Links with identical text are not distinguished by their accessible labels. This could cause confusion for screen reader users. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 2.4.4 Link Purpose (In Context).  
17. The focus indicator is not visible for some user interface elements. This can make it difficult for keyboard only users to keep track of the elements currently in focus. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 2.4.7 Focus Visible.  
18. The ‘Cookie Notice’ element is obscured by another element when focused. This could cause confusion for users who navigate via keyboard. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 2.4.11 Focus Not Obscured (Minimum).  
19. The displayed name of a user interface component does not always match the accessible label. This may result in navigation issues for speech recognition users. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 2.5.3 Label in Name.  
20. The language of the page is not identified correctly, which may result in screen readers announcing content incorrectly. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 3.1.1 Language of Page. 
21. Status messages are announced incorrectly, or not announced by screen readers. This may result in users being unable to correct input errors. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 4.1.3 Status Messages 

We plan to resolve these issues by 29 November 2024.

Preparation of this accessibility statement 

This statement was prepared on 24 September 2024. It was last reviewed on 24 September 2024.

This website was last tested on 19 September 2024. The test was carried out by Zoonou. 

Zoonou used WCAG-EM to define the pages tested and test approach.