Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Bill [HL]

I also speak to Amendments 30 and 73. Through these amendments I seek to specify that the duty in Clause 1(1) to promote an understanding of an authority’s functions, its democratic arrangements and how members of the public can take part in them, includes a duty to provide that information in formats accessible to persons with disabilities. Through these amendments, I am seeking to address a major democratic deficit in British society. No one can be in any doubt that we live in the information society today, if by that we mean an age in which we are bombarded by information from all sides as never before. The ability to handle this information effectively is critical to being able to participate effectively in society, avail oneself of its opportunities, fulfil one’s responsibilities and negotiate one’s way around the various institutions of society and the services it offers. Yet, for blind and partially sighted people, or those who are print handicapped in any way, the ability to do that is largely denied by the fact that the great bulk of that information is completely inaccessible to them. Article 21 of the recently adopted UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, on freedom of expression, opinion and access to information, says that state parties should provide information intended for the general public to persons with disabilities in accessible formats and technologies appropriate to different kinds of disabilities, in a timely manner and without additional cost. Yet, in health services alone, a recent survey of blind and partially sighted people in the UK showed that 95 per cent of respondents had never received health advice leaflets or information from their local surgery in their preferred format; 96 per cent had never received letters from their GP, results of tests or other correspondence in their preferred format; 95 per cent had never received medicines labelled in large print; and the NHS is apparently unable to send out appointments in an accessible format. The Benefits Agency sends out benefit letters to blind people in standard print. A DWP survey of public bodies, including government, education, health and emergency services, found that only one quarter of all organisations offered information in large-print sizes; 8 per cent offered it on disc or CD; and as few as 4 per cent advertised the availability of Braille or audio. Although some of these materials were available on request, the survey found that approximately 40 per cent of bodies surveyed did not provide information in an accessible format at all. Even this Bill, an important piece of legislation, is printed in an inaccessible format—a nice irony. It may be said that it is available on the internet, which is definitely something, but it should not be supposed that that makes it problem free. Coming right to the areas with which the Bill is concerned, RNIB—I declare my interest as its chair—through its ““Information is Power”” campaign has identified several areas of local authority responsibility, from council tax bills to community newsletters to recycling and refuse collection times, that remain out of the reach of persons with disabilities on account of their inaccessibility, despite the requirements of the disability equality duty to make sure that services take account of the needs of disabled people. I recently heard a story of a local authority that stated that it was not possible to produce a council tax bill and explanatory booklet in large print, despite the fact that telephone and utility companies have been producing accessible bills for years. Not unreasonably, the taxpayer refused to pay a bill he could not read. He subsequently received two red letters and a court summons from the council, again all inaccessible, but no accessible bill. The fundamentals of a democratic and participative society require us all to be active citizens. No group of people is more anxious to play its full part, collectively and as individuals, than the disabled. The Bill aims to promote democracy, encourage civic engagement and improve understanding of the role and functions of local authorities. My amendments ensure that it does that effectively for blind, partially sighted and other disabled people. The Government have been instrumental in pushing for more equal treatment of disabled people and in attempting to identify ways in which they can be more involved in decision-making. Yet there is still a dramatic deficit in the engagement and interaction of disabled people with local government structures. Information is power, but only if it can be accessed and understood. Thousands of disabled people across the country are excluded from society, their local authorities and democracy by the simple fact that information and documents are produced in formats that they cannot read. At one time, it might have been thought unreasonable to demand that information be produced in a form in which a blind person could read it, but in the 21st century, making documents accessible is not rocket science. The importance of local government for all our lives should not be underestimated. Local authorities are in the front line of service provision. They are responsible for the provision of decent schools, better roads, leisure facilities, the emergency services, waste management and recycling, and they administer council tax. Disabled people arguably have more contact with local authorities through social services than their non-disabled peers. We all bemoan the growth of apathy in our society. The purpose of these amendments is simple. They ensure that public bodies have to take active steps to ensure that the 2 million blind and partially sighted people who live in the UK are able to participate effectively in public life. They also provide a powerful tool to enable local government to empower individuals to have a say in the running of their communities and the delivery of services and create opportunities for disabled people to become active and included members of civil society. The new clause in Amendment 73, which probably ought to apply to connected as well as principal authorities, provides a light-touch method of monitoring how far authorities are complying with the duty I am seeking to have inserted in the Bill.