Accessibility statement

Southwark Council is committed to making this website as accessible as possible, to the broadest range of people, whether you have a disability or find it hard to use the internet for another reason.

Change text size and colours

You can change the text size, colours and background colours on this website.

Assistive technology can help

If you have a visual impairment, you may find assistive technology that can help you

• Screen enlargers or magnifiers work like a magnifying glass
  
• Screen readers are software programs that present images and text as speech. A screen reader will speak everything on the screen, including buttons and menus
  
• Speech recognition or voice recognition lets you interact with your computer using your voice instead of a mouse or keyboard
  
• Speech synthesisers (text-to-speech or TTS systems) receive what you type in to the keyboard and speak it out loud, so you can check what you're typing as you type
  
• Refreshable Braille displays provide tactile output of on-screen information. You read the Braille letters with your fingers then the next line is presented
  
• Braille embossers transfer computer-generated text into embossed Braille output. Braille translation programs convert text scanned in or generated

To find out more about these technologies and further information, please visit the RNIB website.

Find it hard to access the internet?

Whether it's because you're not very experienced at going online or it's not easy to find a computer to use, we try to help.

It is free to surf the internet in Southwark's libraries.  You can also book some time on a computer in a library.

Links and downloading documents

Links

When you click on a link, also known as a hyperlink, you are taken to a new web page or another section of the Southwark website or another website. These links appear as purple underlined text.

Downloading documents

When the information on the website is given in a form or document that you have to download or open in a new window, we tell you this. 

We also tell you the size of the document, measured in kilobytes (kb) or megabytes (mb). The larger the size is, the longer it will take to appear and the more space it will take up in your computer's memory. 

In order for you to access pdf (or portable document format) documents, you need Adobe software installed on your computer. Wherever we include a link to a pdf document on our pages, we also give a link to download the Adobe software you need. Download Adobe Reader for free. 

Adobe also enables users who have difficulty using pdf documents to convert them to appear as a normal website pages. Visit Adobe's accessibility pages to find out more.

We are working towards making the pdf documents on this website fully accessible. If it is not in the format you require, please contact ecomms@southwark.gov.uk  to request a full accessible version.

Online forms

So that residents can register, report and pay for Southwark services online, the council uses interactive eforms.

If you register with us, you will be able to track your account online.

International standards

We are working towards complying with W3C accessibility standards to meet AA or priority two.

Browser compatibility

This website is compatible with all web browsers, but works best in the latest version.

Download the latest version of Internet Explorer
Download the latest version of Firefox

Moving around

You can browse via the tabs at the top including A to Z of services, the council information drop-down menu on the left, or use the search function at the top.

You can also use the tab button to move around. This is useful if you have difficulty using a mouse.  

Useful links

Here are some links to organisations that offer further information on website accessibility issues

• W3C Web Accessibility Initiative
• The Disabled People pages of Directgov, including links to information on the Disability Discrimination Act
• The Disability Rights Commission
• Information on accessibility options for Apple computers
• Information on accessibility options for Microsoft Windows-based computers
• AbilityNet is a charity that provides details of computer equipment which helps people with disabilities
• Inclusive Technology are retailers of specialist software and hardware for people with disabilities  

Contact us

If you would like to give us feedback on our website, please use the website feedback form.