Last year in
March the City of Sunderland won £3.5 million as part of the
Government’s digital challenge scheme. This money is benefiting
people all over Sunderland and Washington and helping to prepare
for the digital switchover in 2012.
Sharon is
issuing her own digital challenge to the Government.
Learning how to
use a new technology can be a frustrating task. The digital
switchover will mean that the old style ‘analogue’ television
signal will be switched off for good. All of us will have to get a
new digital box to watch TV. For blind and partially sighted people
mastering a new television can prove impossible without the help of
voice activated software. Currently, the Government does not insist
that manufacturers include voice software with set top boxes. This
risks leaving over 150,000 blind Britons without access to
television in 2012. Sharon will be working with RNIB to try and
persuade Culture Secretary Andy Burnham to push the right buttons
and give a clear signal to manufacturers that their technology must
be accessible to all.
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Sharon Hodgson MP
House of Commons,
London SW1A 0AA
E-mail: hodgsons@parliament.uk
Constituency Office Tel.
0191 469 7844
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