Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Bill [HL]

I, too, wish to support the amendments, not only because I agree with them in principle, but because the person who, many years ago, signed me up to a political party on my doorstep was herself partially sighted. When we were both elected to the local authority, we spent a lot of time trying to ensure that partially sighted people got the access to which we believed they were entitled and the kinds of things about which the noble Lord, Lord Low, has been speaking. We did not have to persuade very hard. We were Liberal Democrats, but although we were not running the council—it was a Labour-controlled authority—all the councillors were very co-operative in providing all sorts of assistance to enable my friend to deal with council agendas. We were all aware of the script that partially sighted people need if they are to read things. Council agendas were produced in large type so that my friend could deal with them. That takes me back to my early days on the council, in 1984, when we dealt with those matters. Some councils have done that, but the noble Lord is quite right to say that people do not think about it. Very often, when one explains the situation to people, they are very happy to do it, as the council in Southampton was, but no one had thought about it. One of the reasons we managed to get ourselves elected was because we were campaigning as Liberal Democrats and we produced such things as Focus newsletters. My friend produced a talking version of the Focus newsletter in our ward. I am very happy to support the noble Lord, Lord Low. I am sorry that in 2009 we are still dealing with this, considering we first tried to deal with it in 1984.