MP demands a fair deal for sight loss victims

Published on Monday 29 December 2008 09:16

EDINBURGH West Liberal Democrat MP John Barrett has launched a campaign to extend Disability Living Allowance to people with severe sight loss.

They are currently excluded from the mobility component of DLA despite the many mobility difficulties facing those with visual impairment.

The higher mobility rate is worth 47.75 per week, but people with severe sight loss are only eligible for 17.74 per week.

The Royal National Institute for the Blind has been campaigning for the change for the past year but ministers have vetoed the move, which experts say would cost between 30 million and 40m across the UK.

M Barrett said: "The simple fact is that severe sight loss greatly impedes your ability to get about, meet friends and be part of society.

"Every day another 100 people in the UK will start to lose their sight. If the Government can find billions of pounds to bail out the banks we can surely make a small change to end what is clearly an injustice in the benefits system."