This accessibility statement applies to content published on www.lgo.org.uk

It also applies to our online complaints service for people registering a complaint with us, which is hosted on the subdomain complaints.lgo.org.uk

This website is run by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman. It is designed to be used by as many people as possible. The text should be clear and easy to understand.

You should be able to:

• zoom in up to 400% without problems
• use Recite Me - our free accessibility tool - to customise how the website looks, apply various reading aids have the text read aloud
• navigate the website using just a keyboard
• navigate the website effectively using speech recognition software
• use the website using a screen reader (including the most recent versions of JAWS, NVDA and VoiceOver)

AbilityNet has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability.

How accessible this website is

Some parts of this website are not fully accessible. For example:

• some documents are in PDF format and are not fully accessible
• some embedded video content cannot be viewed when significantly zoomed in, without affecting the viewing experience

How to request content in an accessible format

If you need information in a different format email us at website@lgo.org.uk and tell us:

• the web address (URL) of the content
• your name and email address
• the format you need, for example, braille, accessible PDF or Easy Read (pictures and simple print)

Reporting accessibility problems with this website

If you find any problems not listed on this page or think we are not meeting the accessibility requirements, email us at website@lgo.org.uk

Enforcement procedure

If you contact us with a complaint and you’re not happy with our response contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS).

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’).

Technical information about this website’s accessibility

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman 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 listed below.

Non-accessible content

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

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

1. Some documents are in PDF format and are not accessible in a number of ways, such as having incorrect document structures, labels or alternative texts. Non-HTML documents published on or after 23 September 2018 must have an accessible format.
2. We embed some video clips on our website that do not reflow properly when viewed at 400% zoom. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.4.10 (Reflow).

Content not within the scope of the accessibility regulations

PDFs and other documents

We have many non-HTML documents published before September 2018. The regulations state they do not need to be accessible, unless users need them to use our service.

These are mainly:

• historical investigation reports (public interest reports)
• historical focus reports
• historical copies of our annual report and accounts

We do not plan to replace these documents with more accessible formats. However, users can request these in alternative formats using the contact details above.

What we’re doing to improve accessibility

1. We are continuing to work through making all PDFs published after 23 September 2018 fully accessible. We are also replacing PDFs with HTML webpages where feasible.
2. Where we have embedded videos on our website that cannot be viewed at 400% without scrolling in multiple directions, we have provided links to watch them on the host’s website (Vimeo) and users also have the option to watch them in full screen mode.

We will regularly review this statement and update this page when issues are fixed.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was first prepared on 23 September 2020. It was last reviewed on 22 May 2023.

We tested the website for accessibility issues in March 2023.

We identified a representative sample of pages by:

• focusing on the most important pages for accessing our service (information on how to complain to us) and the most visited
• including most of the common page templates used on our website

The website was tested on 14 April 2021, and then again on 20 February 2023, by the Central Digital and Data Office (part of the Cabinet Office) as part of its role in monitoring the adherence to the accessibility regulations. These audits resulted in a number of further improvements being made to the accessibility of this website. After the last audit we also installed a new website accessibility tool, Recite Me, to provide additional accessibility customisation for our website users without having to download their own software.