Minister for Care responds to RNIB’s Out of Sight petition
Our campaigners outside the Department of Health and Social Care in March 2026.
Back in March, a group of campaigners handed in RNIB’s biggest ever petition to the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) as part of our Out of Sight campaign.
Signed by more than 48,000 of you, the petition called on the UK Government to ensure people with sight loss in England receive the vision rehabilitation support they need, when they need it. Our research has shown that thousands of people with sight loss are missing out on vision rehabilitation services that help them live independently and stay connected.
We’ve now received a response from Stephen Kinnock MP, Minister of State for Care. The Minister responded to each of our recommendations in detail, and acknowledged the importance of independence, dignity, and access to timely support for people experiencing sight loss. However, despite this engagement, he did not commit to taking any of our recommendations forward.
More positively, though, he offered RNIB a further discussion with DHSC officials which we’ll take up.
RNIB is also now hearing from MPs who received postcards from campaign supporters. As an added string to our campaign, it meant that many MPs received personalised postcards, with powerful messages about vision rehabilitation. An impressive 751 postcards were sent to 414 different MPs. You can let us know if your MP responded to you, by emailing us at [email protected].
Among those MPs who heard directly from constituents is the new Health Secretary, James Murray MP. He received three Out of Sight postcards, and 72 of you signed our petition from his constituency, Ealing North. This ensured that we could bring home the full impact of vision rehabilitation to decision makers at the highest level of Government.
What are we calling for?
A recap on what we’re asking the UK Government to do:
- Create national standards for what good vision rehabilitation looks like so local authorities know what service to provide.
- Subject vision rehabilitation services to the same regulation and monitoring as other adult social care services.
- Recognise Vision Rehabilitation Specialists for their skills and expertise by making this role a regulated profession.
We’re currently considering our next steps for Out of Sight, and would like to thank everyone who added their name to our petition and supported the campaign.
While significant challenges remain, there is growing momentum behind efforts to improve vision rehabilitation services. Over the coming months, we’ll continue discussions with government officials, work with partners across health and social care to build stronger evidence about what good rehabilitation looks like, and make the case for greater accountability from local authorities.
Out of Sight is an ongoing campaign – sign up to our newsletter to stay updated, and to find out more about RNIB’s work.
