Ofcom has recently published a draft code requiring major streaming platforms to provide audio description for at least 10% of their content. This follows provisions in the Media Act 2024.

In this episode - a first for In Touch - Peter White is joined by visually impaired guests, Nia Greer and Glen Turner to discuss the audio description of their chosen programmes.

Our trio follow a broad approach, discussing not only the audio description itself, but also issues such as how easily it could be accessed and whether the 10% minimum provision is reasonable.

The chosen programmes are the first episode of:

The Dinosaurs, available on Netflix;

Scarpetta, available on Amazon Prime Video, and;

The Night Manager (Series 2), available on BBC iPlayer.

Who chose what, did audio description improve their experience and were they inspired to watch the other episodes in the series?

Presenter: Peter White

The government has recently announced a reform of the provisions for Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) pupils. It promises more resources for children in need of support. However, there are worries about how these reforms will work for blind and visually impaired children.

Joining us for this episode is Dr Rachel Hewett from the Visual Impairment Centre for Teaching and Research (VICTAR). Dr Hewett is the author of a report that examines the benefits offered by specialist schools for blind and visually impaired children - and the fear these schools may be overlooked in the new reforms. We’re also joined by Victoria Ward, head of visual impairment education at New College Worcester, a specialist school for children with visual impairments.

The RNIB's "Newsagent" service provides newspapers and magazines in an accessible format. Although now resolved, the service has recently been affected by IT problems. Iain Lackie is a regular user of the service and he joins us to share his concerns about how the problems were handled.

Presenter: Peter White

Website image description: Peter White sits smiling in the centre of the image, wearing a dark green jumper. Above Peter's head is the BBC logo (three individual white squares house each of the three letters). Bottom centre and overlaying the image are the words "In Touch"; and the Radio 4 logo (the word Radio in a bold white font, with the number 4 inside a white circle). The background is a bright mid-blue with two rectangles angled diagonally to the right. Both are behind Peter, one of a darker blue and the other is a lighter blue.’

The UK's leading sight loss charity, RNIB, has a new CEO. Simon Antrobus took over the role at the beginning of the year, having spent the majority of his career within the charity sector, including the past ten years leading BBC Children in Need. In Touch speaks with him about the position of the charity's finances, their current recruitment situation, the organisation's priorities of the future and more.

Presenter: Peter White

Website image description: Peter White sits smiling in the centre of the image and he is wearing a dark green jumper. Above Peter's head is the BBC logo (three separate white squares house each of the three letters). Bottom centre and overlaying the image are the words "In Touch" and the Radio 4 logo (the word ‘radio’ in a bold white font, with the number 4 inside of a white circle). The background is a bright mid-blue with two rectangles angled diagonally to the right. Both are behind Peter, one is a darker blue and the other is a lighter blue.

In Touch hears about developments within the video games industry that pertain to accessibility. Including a white paper from the RNIB which is calling for regulation on standardizing accessibility within video games and a more collaborative approach to make more games accessible to visually impaired players. We also hear about a free platform called Able to Play, which allows visually impaired and other disabled gamers identify what games might be accessible to them, based on their specific needs.

Presenter: Peter White

Website image description: Peter White sits smiling in the centre of the image, wearing a dark green jumper. Above Peter's head is the BBC logo (three individual white squares house each of the three letters). Bottom centre and overlaying the image are the words "In Touch"; and the Radio 4 logo (the word Radio in a bold white font, with the number 4 inside a white circle). The background is a bright mid-blue with two rectangles angled diagonally to

Despite some encouraging developments, many blind and visually impaired people complain that they are still unable to secretly and independently cast their vote at elections. With UK elections fast approaching, this episode examines the current situation. Ian Hamilton reports on an initiative in Scotland, and also joining us are:-

Rachael Andrews, whose action to bring a case to Court resulted in the Judge finding that the existing arrangements were "a parody of the Electoral system".

Duncan Johnson from Pakflatt, a company that makes the McGonagle Reader, a device designed to enable secret and independent voting for blind people, and,

Jackie Killeen, Director of administration and regulation at The Electoral Commission.

Presenter: Peter White

Website image description: Peter White sits smiling in the centre of the image, wearing a dark green jumper. Above Peter's head is the BBC logo (three individual white squares house each of the three letters). Bottom centre and overlaying the image are the words "In Touch"; and the Radio 4 logo (the word Radio in a bold white font, with the number 4 inside a white circle). The background is a bright mid-blue with two rectangles angled diagonally to

'Seeing With My Dog' is the latest work from visually impaired playwright Roderick Dungate. The play explores Rod's turmoil with losing his vision and the complexities of training with a guide dog. In Touch's reporter Bethan Langford attended one of the production's rehearsals and she provides her impressions of the experience. Rod also joins the programme, and describes the play's themes and about how access for visually impaired audience members has been prioritised in various ways.

Presenter: Peter White

Whether you have an interest in planting and growing flowers, plants or vegetables, In Touch provides tips on how to make the best out of gardening with a visual impairment. We have gathered a panel of blind and partially sighted gardeners, that have a range of experience, level of vision and horticultural set ups, to provide their tips, tricks and work arounds.

Presenter: Peter White

In Touch speaks with three visually impaired people about their current work and projects. Clarke Reynolds, aka Mr Dot, is an artist and a runner who is taking on the Brighton marathon with the help of Rayban Meta smart glasses and Be My Eyes. Jixie Dye is trying to inspire young readers with her latest children's book, The Welsh Witch and the Queen's Curse and Frazer Tibbitts is the 2026 winner of one of the Make a Difference Awards and is an avid football fan. Frazer has turned his passion for football into a regular slot on his local radio station, BBC WM and Beacon Vision's talking newspaper.

Presenter: Peter White

The UK's leading trade association for the UK banking and financial services sector, UK Finance has just launched a new set of guidelines pertaining to the accessibility of payment cards. They claim that 80% of the financial industry across the UK are actioning the recommendations, which include the standardisation of larger text sizes, and notches to identify different types of cards. Adam Scarrott is UK Finance's Director of Payments and he tells In Touch more about why these guidelines were brought about and we discuss the ongoing issue of touch screen payment terminals.

The Motability Scheme enables disabled people to use certain benefits to lease a vehicle. But, the scheme is about to introduce some changes as a result of the government's Autumn budget. Nigel Fletcher is the Motability Foundation's CEO and he tells In Touch what these changes are, provides more detail about why they came about and when.

Presenter: Peter White

Jackie Brown of STRIVE Ability delivers technology training to visually impaired pupils across Northern Ireland. The training Jackie provides is supplementary to the tailored support pupils receive from Qualified Teachers of Children and Young People with Vision Impairment (QTVIs) and classroom assistants. In Touch tags along with Jackie to visit two pupils in two schools as she delivers training on the technology that is making so much more possible for this generation.

Presenter: Peter White