News Date: Friday 19th November 2004
MP calls for Right to Read for over 4,500 people in East Worthing and Shoreham
Tim Loughton MP joined with Lesley-Anne Alexander, Chief Executive of RNIB, to demand an end to the discrimination faced by three million people in the UK who are being denied the Right to Read. ?Written Off?, a report launched during an event at Parliament during Right to Read week, found that a shocking 96 per cent of all books are not available in large print, audio and Braille ? formats that people with sight problems and other reading disabilities such as dyslexia need to be able to read.
Tim Loughton MP said 'At the event I found that the book I?m currently reading; ?The Welfare State We?re In? by James Bartholomew is only available in print which means people with sight problem or dyslexia would not be able to read it. At the event I found that there are 4,500 people in East Worthing and Shoreham who cannot read standard print books. I believe that being able to read is a fundamental right and have added my name to the Right to Read Charter which calls on Government to take action'
Julianne Marriott from RNIB, one of the 17 organisations making up the Right to Read Alliance, said, ?We believe that everyone should be able to read the same book, at the same time, at the same price. It's disgraceful that people with sight problems and other reading disabilities should have to rely on charity for their right to read. Our research showed that if you can't read print and have a special interest - for example cookery or gardening - less than two per cent of all books are available to you. We are calling on Government to acknowledge that everyone has a right to read and to set up a task force and draw a national plan to end this discrimination.'
At the event Tim met Chamandeep Singh Grover, from Linden Lodge School, who is aged 13, blind and reads Braille. He said: 'What I would love to do is go to my local library and choose a book like sighted people. Sometimes I have to wait ages for a book ? like Offside by David Beckham. I would like to read magazines about computing, but my brother and dad have to read them for me ? which is insulting because if they were in Braille I could read them for myself.'
The Right to Read campaign is also backed by well known authors, including guest speaker Jacqueline Wilson, award winning children?s author, Michael Palin, Wendy Holden, Melvyn Bragg, A.S Byatt, Tony Hawkes and Julian Fellows.
People living in East Worthing and Shoreham can support the campaign by adding their name to the Right to Read Charter at www.rnib.org.uk/righttoread.
For further press information, case studies, interviews with spokespeople, please contact Christina Nicolaidou or Ciara Smyth in RNIB?s Press Office on 020 7391 2223 (out of hours mobile 07968 482 812) Ref: 064 London
Notes to Editors
1.Mann, David, 'Written Off', November 2004, RNIB. For copies of the report, please contact the RNIB Press Office on 0207 391 2223. The report is based on research commissioned by RNIB on behalf of the Right to Read Alliance for the start of Right to Read Week 2004 (15-21 November). It was conducted by the Library and Information Statistics Unit at Loughborough University ( Lockyer,S, Creaser,C, Davies,J Eric, Availability of Accessible Publications, November 2004, Library and Information Statistics Unit, Loughborough University.)
2.Every day another 100 people will start to lose their sight. There are around two million people in the UK with sight problems. RNIB is the leading charity working in the UK offering practical support, advice and information for anyone with sight difficulties. If you, or someone you know, has a sight problem, RNIB can help. Call the RNIB Helpline on 0845 766 9999 or visit www.rnib.org.uk
3.The Right to Read Campaign was first launched in 2002, to tackle the shortage of books available to blind and partially sighted people and those with print reading disabilities. The Right to Read Alliance comprises: British Dyslexia Association, Calibre Cassette Library, ClearVision, Confederation of Transcribed Information Services (COTIS), LOOK (the National Federation of Families with Visually Impaired Children), National Association of Local Societies for Visually Impaired People (NALSVI), National Blind Children?s Society, National Federation of the Blind, National League of the Blind and Disabled, National Library for the Blind (NLB), Royal National Institute of the Blind (RNIB), Scottish Braille Press, Scottish National Federation for the Welfare of the Blind, Share the Vision, Talking Newspaper Association of the UK (TNAUK), Torch Trust for the Blind, UK Association of Braille Producers.
4.Right to Read Parliamentary Reception, 6.45pm until 9pm, Tuesday 16 November 2004, Atlee Suite, Portcullis House, Westminster, London, SW1A 2LW. Rt Hon Chris Smith MP, chair of Man Booker prize judges hosted the event. Other speakers included: Jacqueline Wilson CBE, popular children?s author , Chamandeep Singh Grover and John Godber, RNIB, on behalf of Right to Read Alliance.
