King’s Speech 2024 – the implications for blind and partially sighted people

What was included?

Employment

• The Employment Rights Bill intends to make flexible working the default and establish a Fair Work Agency to strengthen the enforcement of workplace rights.
• The Draft Equality (Race and Disability) Bill will enshrine the full right to equal pay for disabled people in law and introduce mandatory disability pay reporting for larger employers (those with 250+ employees).

RNIB’s response

Flexible working arrangements are beneficial for many blind and partially sighted employees. Alongside this, we want to see much more advice and support on what reasonable adjustments disabled employees can expect.

We believe publishing disability workforce information is an important step to close gaps in employment levels and pay that exist between disabled people and the wider workforce. RNIB is calling for disability workforce data broken down by disability, so fair comparisons can be made.

Health

• The Tobacco and Vapes Bill builds on the work of the previous government, progressively increasing the age at which people can buy cigarettes and imposing limits on the sale and marketing of vapes.
• The Mental Health Bill will modernize the Mental Health Act 1983, seeking to give patients greater rights, choice, autonomy and support in their care.

RNIB’s response:

RNIB welcomes these measures. Smoking doubles your risk of developing age-related macular degeneration – the leading cause of sight loss in the UK.

Compared to the general population, blind and partially sighted people are more likely to experience mental health problems. RNIB is calling for eye care professionals to receive mental health training so they are equipped to have conversations with patients about mental health and to spot the signs of mental ill health. We believe provision for better training of health professionals should be included in the Bill.

Education

• A Children’s Wellbeing Bill intends to remove barriers to opportunity and raise school standards to ensure the school system is fair for every child. It will require all schools to work with their local authority on school admissions, SEND inclusion, and place planning.
• Measures will also be brought forward to remove the VAT exemption for private school fees, enabling the funding of 6,500 new teachers.

RNIB’s response

RNIB research found that 57 per cent of local authorities in England are decreasing or only maintaining the number of Qualified Teachers of children and young people with a Vision Impairment (QTVIs) they employ. It’s critical the recruitment and training of new teachers includes additional QTVIs.

On top of this, we want the Curriculum Framework for Children and Young People with Vision Impairment (CFVI) to be embedded in the Government’s Education policy. A specialised framework is key to removing barriers to education.

Transport

• The Better Buses Bill will allow local leaders to create local bus franchises, with the intention of “bringing an end to the postcode lottery of bus services”. Similarly, the Railways Bill and the Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Bill will create a single public body to deliver and manage the rail network in the form of Great British Railways.

RNIB’s response:

Blind and partially sighted people report that public transport is unreliable, both in service and in accessibility. RNIB is calling for a bus network and rail network that provides a consistent service, with accessibility at its core. We will monitor this legislation and its delivery closely to ensure that local franchising isn’t exempt from prior legislation on audio announcements on buses, and that a nationalised rail network provides assistance to disabled passengers.

Climate change

• Great British Energy will be established, to “accelerate investment in renewable energy and achieve energy independence”.

RNIB’s response

We welcome the plan for Great British Energy to work with local communities to develop renewable projects. Blind and partially sighted people should be included in community consultation to ensure projects are accessible.

Other areas of interest

• Planning and Infrastructure Bill: This Bill intends to streamline processes for the approval of critical national infrastructure and changing the rules on the compulsory purchase of land. We know that there are ambitions to build new towns and many more homes, and we’ll be looking at how we can engage with those plans to press for accessibility to be at the heart of design and planning.
• Digital Information and Smart Data Bill: The Bill will aim to enable more and better digital public services by taking steps such as moving to an electronic system for the registration of births and deaths. It’s important that these digitised public services are designed accessibly for all.

What was missing?

• While there was a commitment to encourage wider participation in democratic processes, we wanted to see specific mention of removing the requirement of showing photo Voter ID in elections or at least widening the list of accepted documents. Voter ID rules make the electoral process even less accessible for blind and partially sighted voters who are much less likely to hold a passport or driving licence.
• Making sure everyone who needs it can receive vision rehabilitation support remains RNIB’s priority. We need the government to be ambitious in its social care reform and to make sure that national standards are set to tackle the postcode lottery.

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