Hansard

I have come somewhat breathless to the chamber, as there was a slight deficiency when the text of my speech was printed out. It is not inappropriate to start by saying that, because perhaps it opens one's mind in a small way to some of the difficulties that are faced by people who cannot read speeches or have access to the written word in the normal way.

It is a great pleasure to open this debate on the 200th anniversary of the birth of Louis Braille and to welcome to the gallery several members of the cross-party group on visual impairment and representatives of their supporting organisations, not least the Royal National Institute of Blind People and the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association Scotland. It is slightly invidious to pick out particular groups, because a substantial number of smaller and larger organisations operate in the field. Some of those organisations are national and some are regional, but they all provide support, advocacy and help or self-help for people who have suffered blindness or visual impairment.

Louis Braille was born in 1809 on the outskirts of Paris, when Napoleon was Emperor of France and the influence of the French revolution, with all its good and bad effects, had swept across Europe. I imagine that there was a sense of modernity, progress and the rights of man—and, I hope, of woman—in the air at the time.

Louis Braille's father was a saddler, which is a French revolutionary-sounding type of occupation for which there is not too much call these days. Braille lost his sight completely by the age of four, following an accident involving one eye and an infection in the other—a phenomenon that is not entirely unknown. He was sponsored by a local landowner to attend the Royal Institution for Blind Youth, which was one of the first schools for the blind in the world. Even our august Royal Blind School and the various bodies to which I referred do not go back quite as far as that.

Braille found that his school taught practical skills, such as slipper making and chair caning, which were seen as useful for future careers. Again, there is perhaps not too much call for those skills now. Reading was taught using raised type, which sounds an innovatory technique for its time. When he was 12, he was introduced to the idea of using raised dots. An ex-Napoleonic soldier, Charles Barbier, visited the institution and told people there how he had invented a method of night writing for soldiers to communicate with one another at night using dots and dashes. Not for the first time, innovation was stimulated through the needs of war.

Braille spent the next few years coming up with a simpler system using six dots to represent the standard alphabet. By the time he was 15—there was obviously an element of child prodigy—he had come up with 63 ways in which to use the six-dot cells in an area no larger than a fingertip. He began teaching the system to other people and became a teacher at the institution, where he also worked on translating books into Braille. He died just short of his 43rd birthday. It was not until 1952 that his contribution was recognised by France and he was reburied in the Panthéon, the resting place for national heroes, which he rightly was by that time. Indeed, he was not just a national hero, but an international one.

Since the Braille system was invented, it has become the recognised method of communication for blind people. It has been added to for funny foreign languages with more or different letters. It is used for taking notes and for various devices such as watches, signage, sheet music and restaurant menus. I even have a business card in Braille provided by the Scottish Parliament, which is anxious to be as inclusive as possible. The Parliament is also fairly good on Braille signage. In the reception that follows the debate, we are to be entertained by young visually impaired musicians whose music sheets are in Braille, which is phenomenal.

In Scotland, the Scottish Braille Press, which was founded in 1891, provides publications in quality alternative formats such as Braille, large print and audio. The RNIB has the largest national library in the United Kingdom for the visually impaired.

It is right that we celebrate the 200th anniversary of Louis Braille's birth and his vital invention of the Braille system, which has helped to widen the lives of many visually impaired people over the years. Research has confirmed that Braille also increases their employability. However, the proposition that I put to the Parliament tonight is that Louis Braille's vision was much wider than just the Braille system, important though it is. Today, technology brings us many opportunities for better communication and opportunities to transcribe and represent books and other material in various formats. We have large print, various font sizes and more suitable colour contrasts, which, as we know from the report on the most recent elections, is important for visually impaired people. We also have audio versions, interactive materials and much more. We can access those in schools, libraries, colleges, workplaces or at home.

Braille was an innovator of his time and, if he was here today, he would be leading the right to read campaign and arguing that we should use the full potential of the technology. He would demand the immediate availability in alternative formats of curriculum materials for young learners and of books, both classic and newly written. He would work to overcome the barriers of copyright law or Government bureaucracy—I should say that the Government is represented by Mr Neil tonight. Braille would also argue that we need an inclusive vision of the rights and contribution of visually impaired people in today's world. It would be remiss of me not to remind the Minister for Housing and Communities of the campaign for a national transcription service and to ask for an update on progress on maximising national resources of material in Braille and large print and of audio versions. That is an important backdrop to the debate.

There are said to be 3 million people in the UK with visual impairment. Of them, about 20,000 can use Braille, which is not a dissimilar number to the number of Gaelic speakers. Evidence suggests that 161 million people throughout the world have a disabling visual impairment, including 6 million or more children. Sadly, fewer than 10 per cent of them receive an education. Therefore, the potential of systems such as Braille is vast, not just here, but throughout the world.

I return to Braille—the technique, rather than the man. The time may come when Braille is under threat or is no longer required because of new technology, but that has not happened yet. Even in Scotland, there are still people who can benefit from the use of Braille. It is up to the Scottish Government, public authorities and those of us in public life to ensure that best practice is adopted and used in relation to the accessibility of information, particularly information on public services throughout our country, so that this and future generations—particularly young people—are able to make the most of their lives.

Canada and Mexico have introduced Braille on their bank notes, which is both totemic and practical. If any banks survive the current financial meltdown, it would be very good indeed if Braille could be used on bank notes in the UK.

As I move towards the seven-minute mark—I am two seconds away from it—I will sum up. The issue is important. The campaigning organisations have done an awful lot to raise the profile of Braille, and this Parliament has had a number of debates about it over the years. Successive Governments have shown interest in it. Progress has been made. In recognition of the anniversary of Louis Braille's birth, let us ensure that progress continues to be made and is accelerated, particularly with regard to young people in the blind and visually impaired community, who are the future of our nation and others throughout the world.