Guide Dogs General Election Manifesto 2024

Parking on pavements is unsafe and unfair. 81% of people with sight loss said that reducing obstacles on pavements and street clutter was important to improving their quality of life. Yet across most of the UK it’s a daily occurrence because local councils don’t have the powers they need to deal with the issue. 

Four out of five blind or partially sighted people said that pavement parking makes it difficult to walk on the pavement at least once a week. Almost 95 per cent of people with sight loss have been forced to walk in the road by vehicles blocking the pavement, making simple day to day journeys dangerous or potentially impossible. 

A new law has recently come into force in Scotland, which joins London as one of the few areas of the UK where local councils have the powers they need to take action.

How your future MP can help:

• Support a clear law on pavement parking across the country. 

Clear paths with consistent features such as tactile paving are essential for people with sight loss to get out and about safely. However, our streets are becoming less accessible as local councils roll out different approaches to street design, including:

• Shared spaces, where the pavement and road are level and encourage pedestrians and vehicles to mix. 
• Bus stop-bypasses, also called floating bus stops, where pedestrians have to cross a cycle track to get between the bus stop and pavement. 
• More street clutter taking up space on our pavements, from electric vehicle charging points, to fewer restrictions on pavement furniture for cafés, bars and restaurants. 

We’re calling for central government to set stronger standards and share updated guidance with councils in England to make sure that safety comes first, and any plans need to be meaningfully consulted on. 

In Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland these are issues for their respective governments. 

Our service users regularly report problems with fast, almost-silent e-scooters being ridden anti-socially on pavements, and rental e-scooters and e-bikes being abandoned and blocking paths.

How your future MP can help:

• Support a public information campaign on the legality of using e-scooters, lead on a joined-up approach on enforcement, and prohibit the sale of unregulated and untested e-scooters. 
• Ensure all rental e-scooter and e-bikes must be parked in docking spaces, and cannot simply be left on the pavement.  

E-scooter trials are only taking place in England, but there is widespread anti-social and often illegal e-scooter use all around the UK. The UK Government is responsible for the majority of rules on vehicle use in England, Scotland and Wales. 

Self-driving cars, also known as automated vehicles, could be a hugely positive development for people with sight loss, unlocking the ability for people to travel more independently and spontaneously. A new law was passed in May 2024 that set out rules allowing the roll out of automated vehicles. 

However, all automated vehicles need to be accessible for people with sight loss when using them as passengers, as well as safe when people interact with them as pedestrians.

How your future MP can help:

• Make sure that there are clear requirements to make automated vehicles safe for people with sight loss. 

From inaccessible stations and trains to a lack of passenger assistance and accessible information, instead of enabling people to travel, our railways all too often act as a barrier to getting out and about independently.

How your future MP can help:

• Deliver a long-promised National Railway Accessibility Strategy setting out how railways must be consistently accessible for everyone. 

Railways in Northern Ireland are the responsibility of the Northern Irish Government. The Scottish and Welsh governments also have a role in the running of their railways.

Guide dogs are not pets or accessories. Along with other types of assistance dog, guide dogs are essential for many people to live their lives independently.

However, over 80 per cent of guide dog owners have been refused access to a business or service because of their guide dog. The fear of refusals can stop people from getting out and about independently. 

While in most cases refusing a working guide or other assistance dog is likely to be unlawful, the reality is that it is extremely difficult for guide dog owners to take action when refusals happen. 

How your future MP can help:

• Strengthen the law on access refusals
• Ensure all transport providers and taxi and minicab drivers carry out training to prevent refusals from taking place. 
• Review licensing legislation to explore how local councils can be empowered to take action when businesses and other service providers refuse access to guide dogs. 

In Northern Ireland, these issues are the responsibility of the Northern Ireland Executive and Assembly. In Scotland and Wales the governments there have power over the rules on taxis and minicabs, but equality laws sit with Westminster. 

Children and young people with a vision impairment face a unique set of challenges in their early development and education, which puts them at a disadvantage compared to their sighted peers.

Ensuring children and young people can access the high-quality specialist support they need, when they need it, is crucial to empowering them to reach their full potential and to live independently in later life.

However, an overstretched and underfunded specialist workforce means that many families face a postcode lottery in accessing support. We are calling on all political parties to ensure that children and young people with a vision impairment are given the best start in life.

How your future MP can help:

• Prioritise the provision and funding of life changing services for children and young people with a vision impairment so they can consistently access the support they need, when they need it.
• Ensure there is a clear pathway of support so children can access early diagnosis and intervention to improve their life chances.
• Deliver a workforce strategy which addresses the challenges around recruitment, training and retention in the specialist workforce to ensure every child with a vision impairment can access appropriate support.

The UK Government is responsible for education and social care policy in England, and changes in funding at a UK level affect all four nations.