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IN TOUCH 鈥� Voting Requirements; Smart Energy; Visual Snow

TX:听 27.02.2024听 2040-2100

PRESENTER:听 听听听听听听听听 PETER WHITE

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PRODUCER:听听听听听听听听听听听 BETH HEMMINGS

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White

Good evening.听 Well, believe it or not, they鈥檙e still at it 鈥� that鈥檚 energy companies who are failing to provide blind and partially sighted people with accessible smart meters.听 We鈥檒l be investigating the latest crop of complaints in a moment.听

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And what is visual snow?

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Clip

It鈥檚 a neurological condition and it affects vision.听 So, the eye itself is normal but the problem is to do with visual processing.

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White

So, if you鈥檝e got it, what can you do about it?听 We have an expert to answer a listener鈥檚 question about this.

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But first, 2024 promises to be extremely significant for political change around the world with more than 80 countries set to head for the polls.听 With the UK, of course, being one of them.听 But there are concerns being expressed here by visual impairment organisations and the Electoral Commission about whether various groups of disabled people are being disadvantaged in their right to vote by aspects of the polling process.听 We鈥檝e spoken many times before about how you actually cast your vote independently and secretly if you鈥檙e blind and we鈥檙e going to be returning to it in the weeks to come. 听But there are also worries now about changes first introduced just before last year鈥檚 local elections requiring people to produce additional forms of photographic ID at the polling stations.听 There is a set of local elections coming up pretty soon, so it seemed an important moment to examine this more closely.

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Niki Nixon is Head of External Communications at the Electoral Commission which oversees the electoral process and she joins us.听 Niki, first of all, remind us when the first set of elections this year will be, which will be requiring these additional forms of identification.

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Nixon

So, there are elections taking place on Thursday 2nd May, those are local elections in England, also elections for London Mayor and the London Assembly and Police and Crime Commissioner elections in England and Wales.听 And there are some other combined authority and local mayor elections as well.听 But, of course, voter ID is also needed at byelections, so if there have been any parliamentary byelections where people are going to vote for their local MP, they will also need to show voter ID there.

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White

So, what kinds of ID are we talking about which are new?

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Nixon

So, there鈥檚 a long list of ID that鈥檚 accepted in the polling station and people can find that on the Electoral Commission website but I鈥檒l give you a few examples.听 So, people can take along a passport, a blue badge, some travel passes 鈥� so an older person鈥檚 or a disabled person鈥檚 bus pass for instance 鈥� these can be used in the polling station as ID.

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White

I mean why has the government鈥� just remind us, why have they made these changes, what are they worried about?

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Nixon

That鈥檚 right, this is a new requirement that鈥檚 designed to protect the system from fraud.听 We actually have very low levels of fraud in the UK but what we have been told by voters is two-thirds of them said they would feel more confident in the security of elections if they were required to show ID in the polling station.

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White

But these are new requirements, why is it being thought that they should be harder, particularly for visually impaired people, to produce?

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Nixon

The challenge is that while there are a small number of people that don鈥檛 already have some form of ID, you鈥檙e right that among those people who say they are limited a lot by a disability or a long-term health condition, 9% say that they didn鈥檛 vote last year because they didn鈥檛 have the ID.听 So, we know that this is an issue for people with a disability.听 Those people that don鈥檛 have a form of ID can apply for what鈥檚 called a voter authority certificate.听 So, this is a free form of ID, it鈥檚 an A4 sheet of paper and people can apply for this with their local authority, they just need their name, address, date of birth, national insurance number and a photograph.听 And there is a deadline by which people have to have applied for this if they want to vote on 2nd May and that deadline is 5.00 pm on 24th April.听 So, we would encourage anyone listening that doesn鈥檛 have a form of accepted ID to apply for that voter authority certificate as soon as possible.

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White

And, of course, there are certain kinds of ID which a blind or partially sighted person would be less likely to have, I mean the most obvious example is a driving licence.

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Nixon

Well, that鈥檚 right, we鈥檝e actually recommended to the UK government that they look again at the list of accepted ID and consider whether it could be extended to ensure that more people already have some form of ID that they can take with them.

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White

Any examples of that 鈥� things that people might be able to take but which aren鈥檛 on the list at the moment?

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Nixon

We haven鈥檛 recommended anything in particular, we think it鈥檚 important that the UK government look at that list and work with partners to understand the types of ID that are most commonly held by voters.

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White

And what was the evidence, after last year鈥檚 voting, to suggest that this was a problem?

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Nixon

Well, we found in 2023, which was the first test of the voter ID requirement, that 4% of people who said they didn鈥檛 vote told us it was because of the ID requirement.听 And around 14,000 people, so it鈥檚 0.25% of people who tried to vote couldn鈥檛 because of the ID requirement.听 So, we do know that there are some people that don鈥檛 have the ID they need and as I said what we would say to those people is please do apply for this voter authority certificate, it鈥檚 free, it includes a tactile marker on it, so you鈥檒l be able to identify it when it comes through the post and it鈥檚 very quick and easy to apply for.

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White

And have there been any modifications or changes since last year, given that there were some fairly vocal complaints about what was happening?

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Nixon

There haven鈥檛 been any changes.听 So, at the end of each election we do research, we talk to voters about their experiences, we make a point of ensuring that we鈥檙e talking to disabled voters to find out how their experience of voting was.听 And then we publish a report and we make recommendations.听 We made a number of recommendations, as I鈥檝e said, including that the list of ID is looked at again but none of those recommendations have been taken forward in time for these elections.

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White

Just finally, remind us about the situation which exists surrounding other accessible methods of actually casting your vote independently and in secret because that鈥檚 been a controversy for some time.

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Nixon

Yes, I should say at the same time as voter ID was introduced there were other changes made that were designed to make voting more accessible.听 So, people can now take anyone over the age of 18 into the polling station to accompany them to help them to vote.听 Councils have also been instructed that they must take all reasonable steps to provide support for disabled voters.听 So, there鈥檚 now a wider list of things that are available in the polling station to support people.听 Things like the tactile voting device and the large print ballot paper but also magnifiers and additional lighting and assistance from the polling station staff.听 Of course, there鈥檚 also, if you don鈥檛 want to go along to the polling station, people can also vote by post or they can ask somebody that they trust to vote on their behalf, which we call proxy voting and both of those are options available to people from May 2nd.

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White

And we will have more news, particularly about the kind of equipment that you might be able to use to help you, in the weeks to come.听 Niki Nixon thank you very much indeed.

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Nixon

Thank you.

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White

Now, a few weeks ago we made the point that it had been over a year since we first spoke about accessible in-home displays.听 Now these are overlays that work with smart meters and which allow you to hear, as well as see, how much energy you鈥檙e using.听 We made the point again because many blind and partially sighted people continue to have difficulty getting one of these from their energy suppliers despite repeated assurances that they should be easily available.听 Well, it seems it鈥檚 not an exclusive to any one particular company, as many of you have been telling us.听 This first from Pam Overend.

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Overend

My supplier is EDF.听 On 16th October I asked for an accessible smart meter.听 I was told it would take 14 days.听 I reminded them on 15th November and was told that they take two or three months to come.听 I reminded them on 9th January of this year and was told that I have a smart meter system one and I need a smart meter system two and that they are not going to replace smart meters for at least six months, even if there is a need for a different type of meter.

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White

Well, EDF told us:

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EDF statement

Our customer services team have spoken with Ms Overend and an appointment has been booked to exchange both meters for second generation meters with an accessible in-home display.听 More generally, if a first-generation smart meter was working as it should, we would not look to complete a meter exchange.听 However, if a visually impaired customer faced a connection issue with that kind of meter or an accessible in-home display, we would authorise a second-generation, one of the latest versions, to replace it.

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We鈥檝e also had this from John Lafferty:

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Lafferty

I鈥檝e been a customer of British Gas since I owned my first flat in London in 1985.听 I was an early adopter of smart meters but have experienced nothing but problems.听 Essentially, they don鈥檛 work and whenever I contact British Gas to try to resolve the problem, I get completely different answers from the operator I speak to.听 I have eventually got them to agree to send out another engineer to replace the smart meter on 29th February but I have no confidence this will happen.听 It took me a number of calls to get the accessible in-house display installed and needless to say it has not, except for the first day, ever worked.

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White

Mark Burke gets his energy from the same company.

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Burke

I鈥檓 with British Gas, who fitted a standard smart meter, some time ago.听 I鈥檝e rung them on a few occasions asking them for an accessible meter, every time getting the same response that they have not rolled them out yet.

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White

Well, we spoke to British Gas, they said:

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British Gas statement

We would always encourage customers to contact us if they need an AIHD.听 We have a dedicated process for providing new and replacement AIHDs when customers call our customer service team.

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And finally, this from Kirsten Herne.

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Herne

I鈥檓 with So Energy and they contact me frequently about having a smart meter installed.听 Each time I say 鈥� well, yes, of course but only if you can fit an accessible smart meter because I鈥檓 totally blind and I live alone.听 I then explain to them how accessible smart meters work and that other energy suppliers provide them.听 All goes quiet.听 A week or so or even less goes by, someone else, using the same script, delight lacing their voice, informs me that smart meter fitters are in the area and that they鈥檙e ringing to make an appointment to fit me in.听 A few more days go by.听 Yes, another person rings, same script as before, same message back from me, same result 鈥� nothing.听 At this point I asked them to forward my comments to their managers, they assure me that they will but nothing happens.听 Some companies just aren鈥檛 interested in supporting their blind customers and I don鈥檛 seem to be able to budge this one along.

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White

So Energy said:

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So Energy statement

We apologise for the inconvenience caused in this particular case, however, our customer care team has been in touch with the customer and is resolving the issue.听 Due to complexities with this specific case relating to the customer鈥檚 meter set up, we鈥檙e now due to carry out a site investigation.

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Well, hopefully, a few nudges from us have helped in some of those cases, although, with some of the replies it seems quite likely that we鈥檒l be returning to this again.听 Anyway, thanks for sending those to us and please continue to do so, we are not going to give up on this issue.

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Now, part of In Touch鈥檚 role has always been to try to answer your questions and I have to say something raised by listener Janet Keeley was a new one on me.听 Janet told us 鈥� 鈥淚鈥檝e just been diagnosed with something called visual snow, I鈥檇 never heard of it before鈥︹�� she says, 鈥溾�� and I looked through the last three years of programme info and couldn鈥檛 find any reference to it there.鈥�

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Well, good research Janet and you鈥檙e right, neither could we.听 So, to find out more we鈥檝e turned to Dr Sui Wong, Consultant Neurologist and Neuro Ophthalmologist at Moorfields Eye Hospital.

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So, Sui Wong, what is visual snow?

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Wong

Well, it鈥檚 a relatively newly recognised condition.听 It鈥檚 a rare condition so probably why you鈥檝e not heard of it before now.听 It鈥檚 a neurological condition and it affects vision.听 So, the eye itself is normal but the problem is to do with visual processing.听 So, there is disruption to the brain network so the eye may be okay but the brain cannot interpret well what is being seen.听 People who have visual snow syndrome, as the name implies, they see something called snow in the vision.听 The best analogy is an out of tune analogue television, the static of that or some people thing of it as if you are looking through a snowstorm or snow globe so that static or snow is one of the symptoms.听 The full name is Visual Snow Syndrome, so it鈥檚 part of the syndrome, there is a collection of other visual symptoms such as seeing after images, trailing of images, lots of floaters, lots of lights鈥� disturbances, sensitivity to light.听 It can be very disruptive and can be very disabling.听

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White

And do we know why it happens?听 If there isn鈥檛 damage to the eye, what is it that鈥檚 going wrong?

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Wong

Ah, it鈥檚 at the level of the brain.听 So, it鈥檚 like a software glitch if you like, so it鈥檚 a brain network disruption.听 It鈥檚 not one specific part that鈥檚 damaged, it鈥檚 just the integration and the network of the brain that鈥檚 disrupted.听 We don鈥檛 know why it first starts and that鈥檚 the difficulty.听 Some people may find a specific trigger to it but some people may not know of a specific trigger.

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White

Can it be treated?

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Wong

I think it can be.听 It鈥檚 a bit tricky, this question actually because it鈥檚 newly recognised and research is limited.听 That is the direction that we really need to head towards.听 So better, good quality research and that is one of the areas I鈥檓 working on.

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White

Some people say it can be associated with migraine 鈥� is that correct?

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Wong

Yes, there is definitely a big overlap with migraine which as I then tell you the next bit of the evolution of our understanding of this condition makes sense because, for example, it was, at one stage, thought to be due to migraine and then it became apparent that it鈥檚 not just occurring in people with migraine.听 So, there is definitely an overlap but the International Headache Society is a group of experts who have created a diagnostic criteria.听 So, it鈥檚 one of the good developments in the recent few years where there is more standardisation about diagnosing, so then we can then move forward with good quality research.

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White

So, it seems like we鈥檝e still got quite a long way to go.听 For someone like Janet there isn鈥檛 an obvious cure at the moment to be blunt?

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Wong

I think there are a few things we can do to help people to begin with who have this condition.听 Firstly, we need to understand what they鈥檙e suffering from.听 We need to understand that what they are suffering from is disabling for them, so it is real.听 The other thing we talked about, overlap with migraine or migraine and from my clinical practice if somebody is having a lot of troublesome migraine managing the migraine is a big part of that.听 I have been doing research on mindfulness as a brain training effect.听 So, the neuroscience research you do mindfulness show that we can make changes to brain networks.听 So, based on the science of mindfulness research I have brought it into the visual snow syndrome, a treatment, research, to test out whether an intensive mindfulness training programme can change the brain network dysregulation or disruption from visual snow syndrome.听 So, in terms of what that actual means, so mindfulness, there are various ways of defining mindfulness.听 There is the practice in terms of how one feels at the moment, which is a non-judgemental awareness of the present moment, for example, being aware of how we are standing, are sitting, how the body is in terms of the breadth of movement, for example and being aware of how one is responding or reacting to the current surroundings or the current moment.听 And in terms of practices, there are various practices that would fall in the realms of mindfulness, for example, there could be the practice of observing the breath as one is sitting in a quiet position, it鈥檚 how you may imagine the classic graphic of somebody sitting and meditating, for example, so, you know, the quiet observation of breath.听 And various other things like the tension of the different parts of the body, something called body scanning techniques.听 So, there are different ways that mindfulness can be done as a practice.听 And in the neuroscience research of mindfulness, it shows that when people have been doing a regular consistent practice for a certain duration there could be changes to the brain networks.

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White

Dr Sui Wong from Moorfields Eye Hospital.

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And, remember, we do welcome your questions and we鈥檒l do our best to find an answer.

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Just a reminder to people in Northern Ireland that tomorrow sees a major exhibition of technology and other services for visually impaired people at the Europa Hotel in Belfast.听 In Touch is going to be there as well.听 As well as covering the tech fayre, we鈥檙e very eager to talk to visually impaired people and their families from Northern Ireland.听 So, look out for us, come and have a word with us.

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Meanwhile, we welcome your comments and suggestions wherever you live, you can email intouch@bbc.co.uk, leave voice messages on 0161 8361338 or check out our website for more information bbc.co.uk/intouch.

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From me, Peter White, producer Beth Hemmings and studio managers Amy Brennan and Mike Smith, goodbye.