Don Foster (Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media & Sport, Culture, Media & Sport; Bath, Liberal Democrat)

I beg to move amendment No. 3, in clause 1, page 1, line 9, at end insert—

‘(2A) Local authorities may, at the request of a relevant person, supply a relevant person with information on persons registered as blind or partially-sighted in their area for use (by the person to whom it is supplied or by another relevant person) in connection with switchover help functions.’.

The amendment stands in my name and those of my hon. Friend the Member for Chesterfield and the excellent hon. Member for Wantage, whose first appearance in his new post we look forward to with relish. I look forward to a passionate speech from him in support of the amendment.

I said in my opening comments about the programme motion that we had difficulty in discussing various aspects of the Bill because we were not in a position to discuss the detailed arrangements for the targeted help scheme and, in particular, who is to be helped by the scheme. However, the purpose of the amendment is to make provision for those who are not registered on the Department for Work and Pensions database but who might be eligible for assistance to be identified so that that help can be given to them. It relates specifically to providing information in respect of some blind or partially sighted people who will not be covered by DWP data, which cover over-75s in receipt of disability benefits. Those people will be covered by the data collection to which clause 1 refers. My argument is that some people may not be covered and we need an alternative source of information.

Clause 5(1) states clearly that the switchover help scheme simply provides help for individuals as agreed between the BBC and the Secretary of State. Bizarrely, that agreement will not come before the House for approval. It says nothing about who those individuals will be.

To find out, we have to look at the Department of Trade and Industry website or at paragraph 7 of the explanatory memorandum for the Bill, both of which make it clear that the targeted assistance scheme will  help households in which one person is registered as blind or partially sighted. We know, therefore, not from the Bill but from ancillary documents that blind and partially sighted people will be helped by the scheme. I am sure that the Committee will recognise that it is important to have access to data about all the people in those categories.

I was not able to attend the Second Reading debate, because I was winging my way to Australia to see how well England’s cricket team would do—we all know the outcome of that—but I have read the report of it with interest. In it, my hon. Friend the Member for Chesterfield, said that

“30 per cent. of blind and partially sighted people who could benefit from the scheme will not be identified by the Department for Work and Pensions database,”—[Official Report, 18 December 2006; Vol. 454, c. 1194.]

and he was correct. The Government do not keep a register of people who are registered blind or partially sighted but who are not in receipt of Government benefits; that information is held by local authorities. The amendment is about enabling us to access the local authority data on that group of people. Local authorities keep those data because, in many cases, they seek to give blind and partially sighted people access to civic facilities and additional assistance by way of bus passes, blue badges and various forms of social service. Therefore, we know that local authorities have the additional data that would be valuable to us.

We could deal with that situation in two ways. The first is to say to local authorities, “This is the scheme that we have in mind. Please use your good offices to identify those people and notify them that assistance is available to them, so that they can contact a central body to access it.” The second, which I believe is consistent with the approach adopted in respect of other databases, is to enable the body that has been charged with the delivery of the scheme to access those local authority data centrally.

The amendment is relatively simple, but its effects will be far reaching for a large number of blind and partially sighted people who will otherwise find that they are not being identified for the targeted help scheme and could lose out.

See this speech in context