John Battle MP calls for Right to Read for over 4,500 people in Leeds West
John
Battle 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.
John Battle MP said “At the event I found that the book I’m currently reading; “The First World War” by Stuart Simpson, is only available in print, which means anyone with a sight problem or dyslexia would not be able to read it. There are 4,500 people in Leeds West constituency 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 John 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 Jacqueline Wilson who spoke at the event, Michael Palin, Wendy Holden, Melvyn Bragg, A.S Byatt, Tony Hawkes and Julian Fellows.
People living in Leeds West can support the campaign by adding their name to the Right to Read Charter at www.rnib.org.uk/righttoread.
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. Call the RNIB Helpline on 0845 766 9999 or visit www.rnib.org.uk
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.