Stuart McMillan MSP, (SNP West of Scotland) has written to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions calling for an urgent resolution to a benefits anomaly that discriminates against blind people when they should be entitled to proper support.
The Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB) has been working with the UK Government, with the cross-party support of MPs at Westminster, and have agreed that there is an anomaly and a way forward but so far the Government has failed to implement it.
Mr. McMillan said;
"As a member of the Cross Party Group on Visual Impairment in the Scottish Parliament, I regularly hear about the difficulties facing blind people.
"It is appalling to note the discrimination of blind people who are being excluded from receiving the high rate mobility component of Disability Living Allowance. There are 270 registered blind people in Inverclyde who are clearly not being supported by the UK Government.
"It is obvious to anyone that blind people will have significantly higher transport costs, with a much greater reliance on, for example, taxis to do basic everyday things like shopping or visiting friends and socialising.
"The Government has accepted the problem but has so far failed to act upon it. That decision needs to be made now and I have asked the Secretary of State why he has not done so and when he intends to remedy the problem."
"It is a nonsense that blind people should not be entitled to the higher rate mobility component of DLA, when mobility is clearly one of the biggest challenges they face."
