Understanding Society: The outcome gap for blind and partially sighted people living in the UK

There is a wide and persistent gap in outcomes between blind and partially sighted people and non‑disabled people.

• Blind and partially sighted people experience worse outcomes than non-disabled people in many areas of life. This includes health, personal, social, economic and environmental aspects of life.
• When disadvantages combine across different areas of life, the effects are even more severe.
• The equality gap is wide. Blind and partially sighted people are often ‘twice as likely’ to be negatively impacted, or worse.
• Most of these gaps have remained consistent for many years.

The gap in outcomes is largest for blind and partially sighted people of working age.

• The gap in outcomes, relative to peers of the same age, tends to be largest for blind and partially sighted people of working age – showing up particularly in the employment rate, income, housing and health outcomes.

The outcome gaps are significantly impacted when a person has two or more medical conditions and poor health, in addition to sight loss.

• Most blind and partially sighted people report additional difficulties that impact their daily life beyond sight loss. Another way to think about this is that sight loss tends to impact people in more ways than just their vision.
• Outcomes are closely linked to the level of difficulty people face. Generally, the more complex the needs, the worse the outcomes.

There is a need for specialist and individualised support – and wider systemic and social change.

• This evidence shows the complexity in providing effective support which gives people the skills and tools to live with sight loss and reduce the gap in outcomes, especially for people who have additional or intersecting needs.
• All of these factors highlight that blind and partially sighted people require support that is both specialist and tailored to their individual circumstances.

The persistence of these inequalities reveals a deeper issue. Small changes and isolated support are not enough. Tackling this inequality requires bold, systemic change to the structures, policies and attitudes that shape daily life for blind and partially sighted people.