I’ve put a new video on youtube about the victory for blind people, when the Government accepted the amendment I had tabled to the Welfare Reform Bill on Tuesday evening.

It changes rules from 1992 which restricted the higher rate of mobility allowance to people who were physically unable to walk, which meant that a blind person who could walk was denied this extra support for getting around – when you cannot drive, use public transport or walk to places safely this support is truly needed. It was always a test that didn’t make sense, because whilst a blind person may physically be able to walk, it’s absurd to pretend that they can therefore get around in this way. The old rules discriminated against a sensual disability, in favour of a physical disability, when it should really have been looking at mobility.

By Tuesday, we had been in serious discussions with Government departments about adding the clause to the Welfare Reform Bill for a while and there were indications that they would accept it that morning. However, nothing is ever certain until it is confirmed in the House of Commons, and there were many MPs in the chamber who had worked on the campaign for years, such as Anne Begg, MP for Aberdeen South, and David Blunkett, the former Home Secretary. It was a very impassioned and charged atmosphere and when there is a great deal of cynicism about politics the sense that this would ‘right a longstanding wrong’ was perfectly clear.

And it’s easy to understand why if you’ve ever met someone who is blind and struggles to get around. The fact that the rules gave support to people who had a physical disability, but could drive or, for instance, use an electric wheelchair to get around, whilst excluding people who were blind from this additional help just magnified the injustice of the situation.

In terms of what happens now, the Bill needs to go to the House of Lords and complete its proceedings in Parliament. Following this, once it becomes law, the Government will need to set up the assessment system (to determine whether a person has no useful sight for orientation purposes) and examine about 50,000 people – a significant task – for eligibility. None of this, particularly the assessments, will happen overnight so payments will begin at the start of the 2011 financial year. In terms of the support coming through we’re not quite there yet and these stages need to take their course but getting it into law is the biggest hurdle to making any change.

But the resounding message from the campaign is that in times of financial crisis issues like this are as important as ever. RNIB did a lot of work generating support and raising awareness and should be congratulated. The Government should must also be recognised for putting this through, when there are many, many claims for money in the Budget. My view, and those of many of my colleagues, is that this is the kind of thing a Labour Government is for.

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