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Leading charity RNID, welcomes yesterday's announcement from the BBC (Monday 16th October), that it is increasing subtitling provision on the BBC Parliament channel. An increase from 450 hours of output per year to 810 has been confirmed, meaning deaf and hard of hearing people will have greater access to important debates in Parliament.

RNID, the largest charity representing the 9 million deaf and hard of hearing people in the UK, has been lobbying Government and the BBC on this issue. Working with Jeremy Hunt MP, the Conservative Shadow Minister for Disabled People, they argued that restricted subtitling on the channel was denying deaf and hard of hearing people access to parliament and the democratic process.

Dr John Low, RNID's Chief Executive, says: "It is great news that the BBC has announced a significant increase in subtitling on BBC Parliament. In a democracy, it is vital that parliamentary proceedings are accessible to the widest possible number of people. Now over a million people who rely totally on subtitles will be able to follow the crucial debates in parliament that affect every aspect of their lives."

Recent research, carried out by MORI on behalf of Ofcom, revealed that between 1.4 - 1.6 million people with a hearing loss have used subtitles, with a very large proportion using them for most of their television viewing. The study also revealed that about 7.5 million people in total have, at some point, used subtitles. Although the BBC Parliament channel is exempt from Ofcom regulations regarding subtitling and signing, RNID has been lobbying BBC Parliament specifically, because of the important subject matter the channel broadcasts.

Dr Low continues: "RNID urges other broadcasters to follow the BBC's lead and consider increasing their subtitled output beyond the current statutory minimum. Ofcom's research proves that subtitles are a fundamental service for millions of deaf and hard of hearing people - television is their window on the world and we need to ensure that availability is dramatically increased across the whole spectrum of channels. "

For further information:

Anna Hollis, Senior Media Relations Officer, RNID. Tel/textphone: 020 7296 8229 or email anna.hollis@rnid.org.uk

Notes for editors:

BBC Parliament channel is broadcast on Freeview, satellite and cable. The channel reaches a monthly audience of between 750,000 and a million viewers.

RNID is the national charity changing the world for the UK's 9 million deaf and hard of hearing people. As a membership charity, we aim to achieve a radically better quality of life for deaf and hard of hearing people. We do this in the following ways:

Campaigning and lobbying to change laws and government policies.

Challenging negative perceptions around deafness and hearing loss.

Providing information and raising awareness of deafness, hearing loss and tinnitus.

Training courses and consultancy on deafness and disability.

Communication services including sign language interpreters.

Training of interpreters, lipspeakers and speech-to-text operators.

Seeking lasting change in education for deaf children and young people.

Employment programmes to help deaf people into work.

Care services for deaf and hard of hearing people with additional needs.

Typetalk, the national telephone relay service for deaf and hard of hearing people.

Equipment and products for deaf and hard of hearing people.

Social, medical and technical research.

For more information about RNID, or to become a member, visit: RNID.org.uk or contact RNID's Information Line on 0808 808 0123 (freephone) or 0808 808 9000 (textphone) or email: informationline@rnid.org.uk

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