Accessibility Statement

1. Accessibility Statement for London Care Services website

This statement applies to the London Care Services (LCS) website and web application.

This website is run by London Councils. We want as many people as possible to be able to use this website. For example, that means you should be able to:

• Zoom in up to 200% without the text spilling off the screen
• Navigate the website using just a keyboard
• Use 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.

There are many ways you can change your browser, computer, keyboard and mouse settings to make the web more accessible for you. The AbilityNet my computer my way guide has helpful advice on customising your computer.

2. How accessible is this website

This website has been built to be as accessible as possible and tested against the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 AA standard.

3. What to do if you can’t access parts of this website

If you need information on this website in a different format, please tell us by using the contact us form.

Please make sure you provide:

• The document name and/or the web address (URL) of the page the content is on,
• A description of the format you need (for example, audio CD, braille, BSL or large print) and,
• Your name and email address

We’ll consider your request and get back to you in 10 working days to advise further. Please note there may be a delay in receiving other formats as these are created when they're requested.

4. Reporting accessibility problems with this website

We’re always looking to improve the accessibility of this website. If you find any accessibility issues or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, please tell us by using the contact us form.

To help us understand the problem, please tell us:

• The web address or title of the page you found the problem
• What the problem is
• What computer and software you use

5. 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 (the ‘accessibility regulations'). If you are not happy with how we respond to your complaint, contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS).

6. Technical information about this website’s accessibility

London Councils is committed to making its website accessible in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No.2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.

This website is fully compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) version 2.1 AA standard.

7. Content that’s not within the scope of the accessibility regulations

7.1 Third party content

In some places on our website, we depend on providers and local authorities to upload documentation. This includes (but is not limited to) Ofsted registration certificates, insurance policies and other children’s services provider policies. Not all documents meet the necessary standards for accessibility.

This is third party content which is not developed by us and so falls under the exemptions of the accessibility regulations – Application, 4. (2)(e). However, wherever possible, we work with third parties to ensure that the content they provide achieves conformance with WCAG 2.1 Level AA.

If you discover any of our third party content is not usable, please tell us by using the contact us form.

7.2 External links

London Councils is not responsible for the content of external websites, nor any accessibility issues that may be present on those websites.

7.3 Maps

The accessibility regulations under the exemptions – Application, 4. (2)(e). do not require us to ensure maps are fully WCAG 2.1 compliant, provided the essential information is given in an alternative format.

7.4 Downloads

As well as HTML web pages, this site includes files to download in formats such as Adobe PDF, Microsoft Excel and Word. You need to have software installed on your computer to view these documents.

Adobe Acrobat reader is free to download from the Adobe Reader download page. Adobe provides advice on accessibility for those who have difficulty viewing documents in PDF format. 

Microsoft Word and Excel is free to download from http://docs.google.com.

We try to make all these documents as accessible as possible. If you discover any of our documents are not usable, please tell us by using the contact us form.

8. How we tested this website

The London Care Services Web Application was built to ensure compliance with WCAG 2.1 standards to level AA. All accessibility testing was done by OWA Digital Ltd. It was last tested on 12 February 2021.

A sample of pages which reflected all the key user journeys for the target users of www.londoncareplacements.gov.uk were tested. OWA used a combination of manual evaluation and semi-automated evaluation tools as part of demonstrating compliance.

Manual testing was carried out on:

• Publicly accessible pages
• Authenticated user pages

The following tools were used to manually test the pages listed above:

• WAVE Evaluation Tool – Chrome Extension
• Lighthouse – Tools for Web Developer
• NVDA – Screen Reader
• Built in Tool – Screen Magnifier

9. What we are doing to improve accessibility

We will continue to resolve outstanding non-compliance issues that are within our control (detailed under “Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations”).

We also engage with third parties to fix accessibility issues found in the documentation they upload onto this website.

This statement was prepared on 16 March 2021. It was last updated on 16 March 2021.