Times are hard for many charities, and those in the sight loss sector are no exception. In a previous episode of In Touch, we heard how Guide Dogs needed to take action to avoid a deficit of some twenty million pounds. So what form will that action take and what does it mean for jobs, services and waiting lists?

We're joined by Guide Dogs CEO, Andrew Lennox who tells us about the charity's plans to deal with the challenges it faces and he responds to concerns being raised.

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

Matt Wadsworth has, for the last decade or so, been working to make fellow visually impaired people's access to the food industry much easier. He developed the concept of Good Food Talks, which is now available as a free app, and it can provide a raft of restaurant menus in an accessible format and on the go. Matt has been working with food data management company Nutritics, to reach more providers in the industry. Nutritics are currently conducting research, that aims to better understand visually impaired people's access to the food industry. If you would like to contribute to their research by providing your experiences, you can do so via the link below:

https://app.glowfeed.com/survey/727a96ce-a100-4560-b6e0-e4e02527dda7?linkId=c807f9ee-c876-4e70-9ede-bc033b3e1f3a&channelId=b212f786-3cc7-4dc2-b762-bd2762389ab7

Also on the programme: Jixie Dye has been visually impaired all her life, and she has recently fulfilled a long-standing ambition of becoming a published author. She joins Peter White in the In Touch studio to discuss her new children's book, The Welsh Witch and her subsequent series.

Presenter: Peter White

Visually impaired producer of the children's television programme Mixmups, Rebecca Atkinson has created a new concept for customising television access. It is called Ultra Access and is currently available online for episodes of Mixmups. Rebecca, along with Kate Dimbleby from Stornaway, who are the interactive video company providing the technology for Ultra Access, tell In Touch whether they think this could become the future of interactive access to television.

Sound of a Masterpiece is an album created by visually impaired composer Bobby Goulder, that reimagines famous pieces of art work into music. It was created with The BBC’s New Radiophonic Workshop, with the aim of bringing visually impaired people closer to art and to experience it in a more immersive way. Bobby Goulder tells In Touch about the concept behind the project and visually impaired art appreciator, Sam Leftwich provides her critiques of the reimaginings.

Presenter: Peter White

Over the past nine months, the RNIB, the UK's largest charity supporting blind and partially sighted people, has made some of their staff redundant and, more widely, has made changes to some of their services. They have also recently published their ambitious 10-year strategy, that aims to improve the lives of blind and partially sighted people. The charity's CEO Matt Stringer provides an update on the changes implemented and what the future of the organisation might look like.

Presenter: Peter White

In Touch dedicates this programme to the late Dr Fred Reid. His long career in academia and wider achievements make him one of the great blind all-rounders, having contributed to national campaigns that made a real difference to the lives of many blind and partially sighted people. He was also a historian, author, sportsman and lecturer at the University of Warwick. Fred tells his own story, in a revisit to a dedicated programme from 2018, along with people who worked with him over the years and knew him well.

Presenter: Peter White

In Touch returns to the issue of welfare reform, and how the proposed changes to benefits are likely to affect blind and partially sighted people. A panel of guests, comprising of Dominic Milne, The RNIB's Legal Rights Officer and Kevin Mulhern, visually impaired journalist and broadcaster, whose been covering the issue of benefits for visually impaired people for the best part of five decades, provide general information on what is important to know but they also aim to answer visually impaired people's questions on how the proposed reforms might specifically impact them.

The Government is consulting on some of their proposals. To submit your feedback and to get more information, go to: www.gov.uk/government/consultations/pathways-to-work-reforming-benefits-and-support-to-get-britain-working-green-paper

Presenter: Peter White

The charity Retina UK are seeking feedback from people with inherited sight loss conditions to learn how they can best support this community and feed into medical research. The charity primarily supports people who are living with genetic conditions, often with a progressive decline in sight. Some of these conditions are well known, such as Retinitis Pigmentosa, Usher Syndrome and Stargardt Disease and others are more rare, such as Leber congenital amaurosis.

The CSUN Assistive Technology Conference is an annual showcase of the latest developments in assistive technology. The BBC's Senior North America Correspondent, Gary O'Donoghue and Emma Tracey, presenter of the BBC's disability and mental health podcast Access All, were there and they provide In Touch with an overview of the latest bits of tech that piqued their interest.

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.

The government has announced its plans to reform the current welfare system with the aim of saving billions. In Touch has brought together a panel of guests to try to outline how the government's plans, outlined in a Green Paper, might affect the benefits that visually impaired people receive.

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.

How much do you know about deafblindness? If your answer is "very little", it seems you're in good company. Such is the lack of research on the condition that the charity Deafblind UK has collaborated with Birmingham City University to establish a new education and research centre. Said to be the first of its kind, its aim is to both undertake influential research and raise general awareness of deafblindness. It will also equip junior researchers and others with the knowledge and skills to become future leaders in the field.

We're joined by Dr. Peter Simcock, who is leading the work at the centre and Georgina Smerald from the charity Sense. We also hear from Robert Nolan, Emma Blackmore and Jo Milne, all of whom are Deafblind.

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 angled diagonally to the right. Both are behind Peter, one of a darker blue and the other is a lighter blue.’

In a recent episode of In Touch, we interviewed Sandi Wassmer, who at the time, we believed to be the UK's only blind female CEO. Among the very positive responses we received were a couple pointing us in the direction of two other blind women in the top job, and who would make excellent guests.

Always keen to respond to listeners' suggestions, we were delighted when Agnes Lunny and Halima Begum, CEOs of Positive Futures and Oxfam GB respectively, agreed to join us. They tell us about their journey to the positions they hold today, the challenges they've faced and what could be done so that others can follow in their footsteps.

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.’