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Eyes on Equality – TPT Launches Manifesto for General Election
Date posted: 10th June 2024
Thomas Pocklington Trust (TPT) has today set out how the next UK Government should improve the lives of Britain’s two million people living with sight loss.
Ahead of the General Election, the charity has published a manifesto setting out the top priorities for a new Government over its first 100 days, first year and first term.
Eyes on Equality also sets out 10 Parliamentary Bills that should be introduced to tackle the issues of concern to blind and partially sighted people across health, transport, built environment, employment and education.
The 10 Parliamentary Bills
Eyes on Equality sets out 10 Parliamentary Bills that should be introduced by the new Government to improve the lives of blind and partially sighted people. They are:
- The Right to Site Bill: This would mandate that all public services, both online and offline, adhere to strict accessibility standards, ensuring blind and partially sighted people can navigate and utilise them with ease.
- The Employment Equality (Vision Impairment) Bill: Offers financial incentives to businesses that recruit visually impaired individuals, promoting workplace diversity and equal employment opportunities of blind and partially sighted people.
- The Education Inclusion (Sight Loss) Bill: Guarantees that all children and young people with vision impairment aged 0-25 have access to an inclusive education, including access to the 11 defined learning needs, as set out in the Curriculum Framework for Children and Young People with Vision Impairment (CFVI).
- The Sight Loss Healthcare Access Bill: Ensures that individuals with sight loss receive specialised healthcare and support services, including mental health services tailored to their unique needs.
- The Public Transport Accessibility (Sight Loss) Bill: Aims to make public transportation systems more accessible through audible announcements and tactile feedback systems, enhancing travel independence of blind and partially sighted people.
- The Vision Impairment Awareness Promotion Bill: Funds campaigns to educate the public about the challenges faced by blind and partially sighted people, fostering a more inclusive and understanding society.
- The Assistive Technology Advancement Bill: Encourages the development and adoption of assistive technologies, making navigating daily life of blind and partially sighted people more independent.
- The Community Support (Vision Impairment) Bill: Strengthens community support programs, providing practical assistance and social opportunities to blind and partially sighted individuals.
- The Anti-Discrimination (Sight Loss) Bill: Bolsters legal protections to prevent discrimination against blind and partially sighted people, ensuring fair treatment in all areas of life.
- The National Eye Health Strategy Bill: Establishes a comprehensive strategy integrating the needs of blind and partially sighted people into all areas of policymaking.
Read the TPT manifesto – Eyes on Equality
“We are excited to launch our manifesto, Eyes on Equality, to give a clear plan of action for the next Government to improve the lives of blind and partially sighted people,” said Charles Colquhoun, Chief Executive of TPT.
“The impact of sight loss is huge. The NHS estimates that two million people are blind, partially sighted or have some form of sight loss condition. This is forecast to double by 2050 and up to 20% of the population predicted to experience it in their lifetimes.
“Our ambitions for the future are clear. More must be done to tackle avoidable sight loss. Half of all sight loss could be prevented with the right lifestyle choices or interventions by the health and care system.
“More must be done to support the independence of blind and partially sighted people by improving the accessibility of the built environment and transport network.
“Much more must be done to stop demonising disabled people and instead provide the right support to enable them to get into the workplace. It is national scandal that only one in four blind and partially sighted people of working age are actually in a job.
“This stops blind and partially sighted people from living the lives they want to lead, is a scandalous waste of talent, damages our economy and costs more.
Our manifesto sets out clear ideas to change this. These include a national insurance holiday for any employer recruiting a visually impaired person, specialist support in job centres, a national campaign to raise awareness and understanding of accessible technology, and improvements to the Access to Work scheme so that it is fit for purpose in supporting blind and partially sighted people into employment.”
Write to your candidates
TPT want to put the concerns of blind and partially sighted people at the heart of the issues being considered in this General Election. There are an average of 3,000 voters living with sight loss in every UK constituency. We are asking anybody who wants to build a fairer society for people living with a visual impairment to write to their Parliamentary candidates and raise awareness of these issues.