Using this website
This accessibility statement applies to lbhf.gov.uk
This website is run by Hammersmith & Fulham 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 using browser or device settings
- 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)
You should also be able to select a language to get a page translated using Google's translation service. This is a machine-based translation service, so we can't guarantee the accuracy or the sense of any given translation.
We've also made the website text as simple as possible to understand.
Making your device easier to use
AbilityNet has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability.
Find out how to:
- make your mouse easier to use
- use your keyboard instead of a mouse
- talk to your device
- make your device talk to you
- make text larger
- change your colours
- magnify the screen
Online services provided by third-party applications
Most of our online services are provided by third-party applications - these are platforms and websites developed by external suppliers.
Because the development of these third-party applications is partly or wholly out of our control, they may not conform to the same levels of accessibility as our main website.
Third-party applications include:
- My Account
- Online payments
- Libraries catalogue
- Public Access applications search (planning, building control and licensing)
We monitor the accessibility of these sites and ask suppliers to fix accessibility issues that arise.
Accessibility statements for our third-party systems
View the accessibility statements for our third-party systems.
We require that any new third-party systems we commission are Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 AA compliant.
How accessible this website is
We know some parts of this website aren't fully accessible:
- most PDFs aren't fully accessible to screen reader software
- error messages only display temporarily on forms and are generic
Feedback and contact information
If you need information on this website in a different format like an accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille, please get in touch by emailing us at webmaster@lbhf.gov.uk
Reporting accessibility problems with this website
We're always looking to improve the accessibility of this website.
If you find any problems that aren't listed on this page or think we're not meeting the requirements of the accessibility regulations, please use our report form to let us know.
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're not happy with how we respond to your complaint, contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS).
Contacting us by phone or visiting us in person
We provide a text relay service for people who are Deaf, hearing impaired or have a speech impediment. Please call 18001 followed by 020 8748 3020.
Alternatively, you can use Relay UK service. Relay UK (previously Next Generation Text) - helps people with hearing and speech difficulties communicate with anyone over the phone, using the national relay service.
Our customer service centre is wheelchair accessible and has a portable hearing loop.
Find out how to contact us.
Technical information about this website's accessibility
Hammersmith & Fulham 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 2.1 AA standard, due to the non-compliances and exemptions listed below.
Non-accessible content
The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons.
Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations
Documents
Documents published between 23 September 2018 and 11 March 2021 have been reviewed and remediated for accessibility issues, along with older documents essential for service delivery. Examples of essential documents include PDFs with information on how users can access our services and forms published as PDF or Word documents.
Not all documents published since 12 March 2021 are accessible.
Accessibility issues include missing:
- text alternatives for images
- document structure properties such as headings and bookmarks
- interactive controls for forms
- a default document language
- titles or have non-descriptive titles
If you come across a document you're unable to use, contact us to request an accessible alternative document.
We also publish documents that are not designed for reading online, for example, posters, leaflets or digital image files. These documents may not be accessible. We will identify them as printable documents and offer users an alternative format if requested.
Read more about what we are doing to improve the accessibility of documents.
Forms
Forms hosted on the H&F website such as the apply for a parking suspension form have some accessibility issues.
Hidden grouping labels generated for radio buttons and checkbox items point to invalid IDs. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.3.1 (info and relationships).
Error messages are:
- temporarily displayed and only appear one at a time
- generic and do not give suggestions on how to correct the error
This does not meet WCAG 2.1 success criterion 3.3.1 (error identification) and 3.3.3 (error suggestion).
We're working with our developer on resolving these issues. In the meantime, we have alternative ways for users to access the services provided through these forms via email or telephone.
Disproportionate burden
Not applicable.
Content that's not within the scope of the accessibility regulations
This section covers issues that we do not need to fix right now. The law calls these exemptions.
Documents published before 23 September 2018
The accessibility regulations do not require us to fix documents published before 23 September 2018 if they are not essential to someone accessing our services.
Many of our older documents do not meet accessibility standards - for example, they may not be tagged so they're accessible to some using a screen reader. Contact us to request an accessible alternative to one of these documents.
Read about what we are doing to improve the accessibility of documents.
Third-party content
Our website uses functionality and content that is neither funded, developed or under our control. This means we cannot always guarantee they will be accessible.
The following third-party content and functionality that we use have known accessibility issues.
Air-quality in Hammersmith & Fulham widget
Routes are only provided on the map and no text descriptions are given.
Google Translate
The dropdown box to select a language is missing a label.
Videos published before 23 September 2020
Video content embedded on our website before 23 September 2020 may not meet accessibility standards.
This is because they may not feature:
- subtitles or captions
- an audio-description
- a written transcript
While these videos are not subject to the regulations, we are adding text alternatives where possible.
How we monitor this website
We use Silktide an automated testing tool to help us monitor and fix usability and accessibility issues as they occur.
We also use a range of other tools to test for accessibility issues including:
- Accessibility insights for the web
- Arc toolkit
- Axe
- browser developer tools
- NVDA
- Siteimprove accessibility checker
- Text spacing
- WAVE
- Web Aim contrast checkers
- Web developer
Manual reviews are carried to assess any content and functionality automated testing cannot cover.
The website was last audited by an external organisation on 8 January 2019. The audit was carried out by Shaw Trust Accessibility Services and included technical and manual testing. The sample of pages reviewed in the audit was selected using the following criteria:
- pages common to many websites - for example, homepage and contact us
- pages with variations in layout and functionality
- most visited pages
- selecting pages at random
What we're doing to improve accessibility
Documents
We work with our service teams to try and provide an accessible HTML version of any new information as the primary source rather than use a PDF or other document format.
When we publish new PDFs or other document types that we own or control, we will aim to ensure they meet accessibility standards. If we have to publish a PDF that doesn't meet accessibility standards, we will provide a plain text version that does.
We're also developing a new template that allows us to publish longer-form content more easily on web pages and overall reduce the need to use PDFs on our website. We will use the template and other functionality on our new website to convert many of our older documents into web pages.
Videos
New videos used on our website will be published to their own page and include a transcript on this page.
Preparation of this accessibility statement
This statement was prepared on 23 September 2019. It was last reviewed on 12 October 2023.