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Accessibility statement

Our guidance can help you experience a better web browsing if you have issues with digital accessibility.

This accessibility statement applies to only www.luton.gov.uk

This website is run by Luton Council Digital Services team. 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 400% without the text spilling off the screen
  • navigate most of the website using a keyboard or speech recognition software
  • listen to most of 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 or impairment.

Problems you might have accessing our website

We know some parts of this website are not fully accessible:

  • some pages and document attachments are not written in plain English
  • some tables do not have row headings
  • some documents have poor colour contrast
  • some heading elements are not consistent
  • some images do not have image descriptions
  • some error messages are not clearly associated with form controls
  • many documents are in PDF format and are not accessible
  • pages show a Google map which screen reader users and keyboard users can find difficult to use
  • third party platforms may not meet WCAG 2.2

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 contact our customer service team in the first instance. We’ll consider your request and get back to you within 10 working days.

Reporting accessibility problems with this website

We’re always looking to improve the accessibility of this website. If you find any problems not listed on this page, or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, complete our website feedback form.

Submit website feedback form

Enforcement procedure

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is responsible for enforcing PSBAR (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.

Technical information about this website’s accessibility

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

We will continue to review our website periodically to ensure that this list is more accurate.

Some pages have form fields arranged in an illogical order, such as placing the "Submit" button before the email input field. This causes screen reader users to encounter the button before filling out required fields, disrupting the meaningful sequence of content. This fails WCAG 2.2 Success Criterion 1.3.2 (Meaningful Sequence).

Some pages have duplicate titles. This may make it difficult for users to orient themselves and find the right content. This fails WCAG 2.4.2 success criterion (Page Titled).

Some pages have the same link text going to different destinations, so people might not know the difference. This fails WCAG 2.2 level A success criteria 2.4.4 (link purpose, in context).

Some pages are missing the lang attribute in the HTML tag, meaning screen readers cannot determine the language of the content. As a result, users may not receive the correct pronunciation or linguistic support, failing WCAG 2.2 Success Criterion 3.1.1 (Language of Page).

Some form controls, like dropdowns and checkboxes, lack accessible labels or ARIA attributes, leaving screen reader users unaware of their function. This fails WCAG 2.2 Success Criterion 4.1.2 (Name, Role, Value).

Some tables in content do not have table row headers when needed. This means assistive technologies will not read the tables correctly. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships).

Some of our services are provided by third-party software and are 'branded' to look like they are part of the official Luton Council website. These include:

  • online forms (myforms.luton.gov.uk)
  • business rates, landlord payments and free school meals list (connect.luton.gov.uk)
  • planning (planning.luton.gov.uk)
  • Luton Directory and Local Offer (directory.luton.gov.uk)
  • Committee Management Information System (CMIS) (democracy.luton.gov.uk)
  • adult social care self-assessment (socialcare.luton.gov.uk)
  • penalty charge notice (PCN) payments (parking.luton.gov.uk)
  • tenancy self service (housing.luton.gov.uk)
  • job search (findjobs.luton.gov.uk)

We are currently in the process of assessing the complexity and costs of fixing the issues with our third party providers. We require that any new third party systems we commission for the website are Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.2 AA compliant.

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

PDFs and other documents

Some of our PDFs and other documents are not formatted so they’re accessible to a screen reader. This does not meet WCAG 2.2 success criterion 4.1.2 (name, role value). 

Any new documents we publish should meet accessibility standards but there are some exceptions to this (which may only be partially compliant), including

  • very complex PDFs which are non-essential for accessing our services such as complex tables in the statement of accounts documents
  • documents produced by external organisations
  • documents specifically designed to be downloaded for use as posters or flyers
  • some form documents where related systems are dependent on the existing layout or format
  • maps, building plans, historical archive scans
  • some of our older PDFs and other documents don’t meet accessibility standards. For example, they may not be structured so they’re accessible to a screen reader. This doesn’t meet WCAG 2.2 success criterion 4.1.2.
  • the accessibility regulations do not require us to fix PDFs or other documents published before 23 September 2018 if they’re not essential to providing our services. 
  • any new documents that are added to the website are tested first to ensure they’re accessible to users of assistive technology.

What we are doing to improve accessibility

We will continue working towards meeting WCAG 2.2 level AA for the current version of luton.gov.uk, including:

  • maintaining our content guidelines, which explain how to create accessible content
  • working with developers and editors to fix code and content issues with our website
  • carrying out further accessibility testing involving people with disabilities and impairments

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared in September 2020. It was last reviewed on 9 April 2026.

A detailed accessibility check of luton.gov.uk was last carried out on 24 March 2026 by Luton Council's Digital Services Team, in collaboration with LocalGov Drupal supplier Annertech. 

We carried out our testing based on all pages, documents and other media.