[access-uk] Re: Charity for blind hits out at Bromley council (From News Shopper)

  • From: "Ron Sears" <r.sears1@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: <access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Wed, 12 Jan 2011 09:21:52 -0000

Oh yes you do if you were receiving it before you reached that age.

Ron
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Damon Rose" <damon.rose@xxxxxxxxx>
To: <access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Wednesday, January 12, 2011 9:15 AM
Subject: [access-uk] Re: Charity for blind hits out at Bromley council (From 
News Shopper)


C'mon dave, not everyone gets the DLA they're entitled to. And you don't get 
DLA 
if you're over 65.


-----Original Message-----
From: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of 
Ankers, Dave (UK)
Sent: 12 January 2011 09:11
To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [access-uk] Re: Charity for blind hits out at Bromley council (From 
News Shopper)

Lets not forget , we get D L A to help with the extra costs we encounter due to 
our disability.

Cheers

Dave

"access these services is often posted in libraries and town halls"
Of course we all live within spitting distance of our local libraries and town 
halls where details of services are readily available in an accessible format.

"For heaven sake, wake up everyone, smell the roses and start putting your hand 
in your pocket and paying for things you want or that you feel you need"
So, Ibrahim, I take it that you have never accepted a penny of government grant 
for specialist gear and instead have paid for everything out of your own 
hard-earned cash. *smile*

All the best
John

At 07:56 12/01/2011, you wrote:


Hi.

I totally agree here.  I cant see what all the fuss is about.  Never at any 
time 
in my life as far as I can remember have I ever had talking books paid for by 
my 
local council or charity, be it public or private.  Talking books as supplied 
by 
the RNIB is only £69 per year, a significant subsidy when you consider they 
loan 
you a player and potentially dozens of books per year.  If you want to read, 
you 
should be prepared to pay for it as reading is not a human right and even if it 
were, the council in most boroughs provide their own library services with 
books 
on cd, cassette and even playaway as is the case in Peterborough where I live. 
The fact that some blind people are either too lazy or just plane ignorant of 
these services is no excuse not to ask them, for all they have to do is get off 
their asses or pick up the phone and ask.  In an age where most young blind 
people and even a large majority of the middle aged and elderly have access to 
technology of some sort or oth
   er or know people who have access to said technology, the information about 
service provision in your local borough is readily available online and details 
of how to access these services is often posted in libraries and town halls. 
For heaven sake, wake up everyone, smell the roses and start putting your hand 
in your pocket and paying for things you want or that you feel you need.  Joe 
public doesn't get free books, so why the heck should we.

All the best, Ibrahim.


----- Original Message ----- 

From: David <mailto:n.weston42@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>

To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sent: Wednesday, January 12, 2011 7:36 AM

Subject: [access-uk] Re: Charity for blind hits out at Bromley council (From 
News Shopper)


Hi,



I would like to say that for that the last forty years or more I have had to 
pay 
for my equipment and also for my talking books. So far as I can see their is no 
change for me, or is Hertfordshire unique?



David Weston.

-----Original Message-----

From: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [ mailto:access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx 
<mailto:access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> ] On Behalf Of Gordon Keen

Sent: 11 January 2011 09:38

To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Subject: [access-uk] Charity for blind hits out at Bromley council (From News 
Shopper)




Here we go then, the big society - my arse!





Charity for blind hits out at Bromley council



1:18pm Monday 10th January 2011


By David Mills


A CHARITY which represents the blind and visually impaired has hit out at 
Bromley Council <http://www.bromley.gov.uk/Default.bromley>  for temporarily 
suspending equipment provision.


Services which include the talking books, as well as equipment such as walking 
canes and liquid level indicators, are all under review by the council.


Kent Association for the Blind (KAB), which has a sight centre in Blyth Road, 
Bromley, will be pressuring the council to continue providing funding.


Dick Groves, aged 65, of South View, Bromley, said: "Visual impairment is the 
most feared of all sensory impairments. Provision in Bromley is extremely 
patchy."


Mr Groves, who is blind, said: "This is a classic example of the way in which 
action has been taken without consultation and without information being given 
to one of the weakest sections of society and least able to respond."


A KAB spokesman said: "We are currently in contact with our service users to 
explain the service has been temporarily suspended by the London borough of 
Bromley.


"We are sharing other providers of these services such as the Calibre audio 
library, a completely free service, to ensure users are not going to go without 
talking books.


"We at KAB are going to be making representations to the council to press the 
case that it would be more cost effective to continue to fund provision because 
we believe withdrawing that service represents a real risk to people's safety 
and their ability to get out and about.


"The costs that could be generated by injury would far outweigh the cost to the 
council of providing equipment."


A council spokesman said: "We have a strong commitment to providing talking 
books in our libraries with no plans to cut the service and we will continue to 
make special concessions to waive charges to people with a registered visual 
impairment.


"We have however moved from cassettes to CDs and downloadable material over the 
years but we still keep a large collection of older cassettes in our Home 
Library Service, which supports customers who are physically unable to get into 
a branch.


"There are also free national talking book service and as well as our library 
service we will be assisting people to access the talking books from the 
national Calibre service together with the equipment provided by the British 
Wireless for the Blind Fund.


"To make sure we make the best use of our resource we wanted to avoid 
duplication and whilst we no longer fund the KAB talking books service, KAB is 
pointing people to our library and to these free services.


"In terms of equipment supplied by the KAB on our behalf such as portable 
lamps, 
talking clocks and mobility aids, again we want to make sure we use resources 
as 
efficiently as possible and have suspended this KAB while we carry out a review.


"However we do continue to fund KAB to provide assessment and rehabilitation 
services for people with visual impairments."


Back


© Copyright 2001-2011 Newsquest Media Group


http://www.newsshopper.co.uk <http://www.newsshopper.co.uk>



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