‘Can You See Us?’ Parliamentary Event

Date posted: 19th March 2024

Tomorrow, Wednesday 20 March 2024, Thomas Pocklington Trust (TPT) and Sight Loss Council (SLC) volunteers will host a special event at Westminster to highlight current issues facing blind and partially sighted (BPS) people called ‘Can You See Us?’.

Attending Members of Parliament (MPs) will learn about the work of TPT through six interactive stations providing lived experience to bring about changes for accessible ‘Transport’, ‘Health’, ‘Education’, ‘Employment’, ‘Voting’ and ‘Built Environment’. MPs will also be given the opportunity to wear specially designed spectacles that simulate the most common sight loss conditions.

It will be a chance for them to meet with blind and partially sighted staff and volunteers, hear more about our campaigning work to address inequalities and pledge their support.

Every day in the UK, 250 people begin to lose their sight*. There are over 2 million blind or partially sighted people living in the UK, which is set to double by 2050*. It is now more important than ever, with the increasing push towards equality, that streets are built so that they are inclusive of everyone’s needs. We should all have the right to a life of independence and the ability to access our healthcare information, cast an independent vote in confidence, have the right to receive education and have measures in place to be able to work and stay in employment. Independent travel is a key factor in living a fulfilled life, thus, transport and our built environment need to be accessible. Being able to make independent journeys with confidence should be the norm.

Thomas Pocklington Trust is a leading advocate of equality for blind and partially sighted people. We are a charitable organisation with a dedicated staff team, over half of whom are blind or partially sighted, and we have over 200 dedicated volunteers who have lived experience of sight loss. Our mission is to support blind and partially sighted people to bring about equity and inclusion in every aspect of society.

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*Source RNIB 2021