Accessibility statement
This website is run by Lewisham 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 400% without the text spilling off the screen
- navigate most of the website using just a keyboard
- navigate the website using speech recognition software
- listen to most of the website using a screen reader (including JAWS, NVDA and VoiceOver)
- understand the structure and reading order of pages and content
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
Our website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) version 2.2 AA standard. We know some parts of our website aren’t fully accessible. For example:
- some online forms do not provide accessible labels for all form controls
- some online forms cannot be fully operated using a keyboard
- some forms do not provide accessible error messages or announce status changes to assistive technologies
- some forms have focus order issues
- some forms trigger changes automatically when selecting options
- some forms have session time limits without warning
- some heading structures within forms are not correctly organised
- some older PDF documents are not fully accessible to screen readers
- some images in PDFs do not have text alternatives
- some PDF documents have insufficient colour contrast
- some older videos do not include audio description
- the cookie consent banner has accessibility issues affecting screen reader users
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:
We’ll consider your request and get back to you in 14 days.
Reporting accessibility problems with this website
We’re always looking to improve the accessibility of this website. If you find any accessibility problems that aren’t listed on this page, or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, you can
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. If you’re not happy with how we respond to your complaint, contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS).
Contact us by phone or visit us in person
British Sign Language (BSL) users
We provide a 24-hour online interpreting service for British Sign Language (BSL) users. Our offices have audio induction loops. If you visit one of our offices we can arrange a BSL interpreter.
Find out more about our services for British Sign Language users.
Technical information about this website’s accessibility
Lewisham Council 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 2.2 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
PDFs
Some of our PDFs do not comply with WCAG 2.2 to Level A and AA which may make them difficult for some of our users to access. For example:
- they currently do not have the correct heading tags so screen reader users will be unable to navigate using heading levels
- this fails WCAG success criterion 1.3.1 (Info & Relationships)
- they do not have document landmarks so screen reader users will find it difficult to understand the structure of the PDFs
- this fails WCAG success criterion 1.3.1 (Info & Relationships)
- images are missing alternative text so blind people will be unable to discern them
- this fails WCAG success criterion 1.1.1 (Non-text Content)
- colour contrast is insufficient in places which can impact users with visual impairments, colour vision deficiencies or colour blindness
- this fails WCAG success criterion 1.4.3 (Contrast)
Where possible we plan to convert PDFs to HTML, which will be built to comply with accessibility guidelines. For any new PDFs, we will ensure they are created in an accessible way.
Cookie consent banner
Our cookie consent banner, operated by Cookiebot, is not fully compliant with WCAG 2.2 AA guidelines. We are currently exploring how we can implement a robust, compliant consent solution.
Some of the issues are:
- some form controls do not have labels
- people using screen readers are not able to perceive the layout of the form
- this fails WCAG success criterion A 1.3.1
- some lists are not marked up correctly
- some lists contain elements that are not accurately reported as descendants by screen readers
- this fails WCAG success criterion A 4.1.1
- some dialogs do not have labels
- the consent banner pop up window does not have a label that can be read by screen readers
- his fails WCAG success criterion A 1.3.1
We are working with our supplier to implement an accessible replacement.
Online forms
Some online forms have accessibility issues.
These include:
- some form controls do not have accessible names or labels, failing WCAG 2.2 success criterion 4.1.2 (Name, Role, Value)
- some form controls cannot be operated using only a keyboard, failing WCAG 2.2 success criterion 2.1.1 (Keyboard)
- some forms automatically change content after selecting radio buttons without warning, failing WCAG 2.2 success criterion 3.2.2 (On Input)
- focus order is not always logical, failing WCAG 2.2 success criterion 2.4.3 (Focus Order)
- headings are not always structured correctly, failing WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships)
- error messages do not always explain how to correct errors, failing WCAG 2.2 success criterion 3.3.3 (Error Suggestion)
- error messages and status updates are not always announced to assistive technologies, failing WCAG 2.2 success criterion 4.1.3 (Status Messages)some forms timeout without warning or allowing users to extend their session, failing WCAG 2.2 success criterion 2.2.1 (Timing Adjustable)
We are working with our suppliers to improve these issues as systems are upgraded.
Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations
Interactive maps and forms
Some of our online forms and interactive maps are not yet fully accessible.
Known issues include:
- some form controls do not have accessible names or labels, failing WCAG 2.2 success criterion 4.1.2 (Name, Role, Value)
- some controls cannot be operated using only a keyboard, failing WCAG 2.2 success criterion 2.1.1 (Keyboard)
- focus order is not always logical, failing WCAG 2.2 success criterion 2.4.3 (Focus Order)
- some forms automatically change content when options are selected, failing WCAG 2.2 success criterion 3.2.2 (On Input)
- error messages do not always explain how to correct errors, failing WCAG 2.2 success criterion 3.3.3 (Error Suggestion)
- status messages are not always announced to assistive technologies, failing WCAG 2.2 success criterion 4.1.3 (Status Messages)
- some forms have session time limits without warning or an option to extend the session, failing WCAG 2.2 success criterion 2.2.1 (Timing Adjustable)
- some headings are not structured correctly, failing WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships)
Some of these services are provided through third-party systems.
We are working with our suppliers to improve the accessibility of these services. Improvements to our interactive maps are planned during 2026, and we will continue to review and improve the accessibility of our online forms as systems are updated or replaced.
Content that is not within the scope of the accessibility regulations
PDFs and other documents
The accessibility regulations do not require us to fix PDFs or other documents published before 23 September 2018 unless they’re essential to providing our services.
Any new PDFs or Word documents we publish will meet accessibility standards.
Pre-recorded video and audio
The accessibility regulations do not require us to add audio description or text transcripts to pre-recorded videos and audio published before 23 September 2020.
Any new videos or audio added to the site will meet accessibility standards.
Preparation of this accessibility statement
This statement was prepared on 01 July 2026.
This website was last tested on 12 March 2026. This website was tested using automated accessibility scanning software and manual checks against the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 Level A and Level AA.
We used the Website Accessibility Conformance Evaluation Methodology (WCAG-EM) approach to deciding on a sample of pages to test.