Influencing Award 2026

Beacon Centre for the Blind 

People with sight loss shouldn’t have to rely solely on specialist services, the healthcare, transport, education and community services we all use should be accessible to everyone. That’s why Beacon works to change systems, not just support individuals.

This year, we’ve influenced organisations across healthcare, transport, education, business and the voluntary sector to create lasting change. Forty-two GP practice staff introduced practical improvements to make surgeries more accessible, while our partnership with the NHS has improved access to women’s health information. Working with Wolverhampton’s taxi licensing team led to changes in driver training after barriers faced by guide dog owners were identified.

Our campaigns reached more than 4,300 employees and schoolchildren, helping build greater understanding of eye health and sight loss, while 15 Occupational Therapy students gained hands-on experience that will shape the care they provide throughout their careers.

We also brought together 16 organisations to create more joined-up mental health support and developed a toolkit helping sight loss charities across the UK influence services in their own communities.

By changing organisations instead of asking people to adapt, Beacon’s influence creates lasting improvements that benefit thousands of blind and partially sighted people, now and in the future.

Coventry Vision Hub 

Too often we hear horror stories of how people with visual impairments are treated by organisations who are not aware of the challenges. But there are plenty of good news stories as well.

The Shine Awards are nominated by users of Coventry Vision Hub, and only by them, for shops, companies and other bodies for having provided them with exceptional support. Recipients receive a window sticker or a framed version for public display and a letter of commendation setting out why they have been recognised. The award is presented on-site, the letter read out to the staff, and photos taken for social media.

Although still a relatively young programme, the Shine Awards have proven tremendously popular with our beneficiaries, and the organisations that have received them – from local branches of large corporates to small retailers – have been very pleased and grateful.

For Coventry Vision Hub, it gives the opportunity to advocate for the rightful place of visually impaired people in society, to develop bonds with companies locally and to publicise the work of the charity, all of which can also appear on social media. For low cost, it is a positive contribution to our work.

Sight Scotland and Sight Scotland Veterans

Free rail travel for companions of severely sight impaired or blind people in Scotland has now become permanent government policy. This achievement is the result of a four-year campaign built on lived experience, persistence and collaboration.

On 11 March 2026, the Cabinet Secretary for Transport Fiona Hyslop MSP confirmed that the free companion rail travel scheme, piloted since April 2025, will become a permanent part of Scotland’s transport system. This follows campaigning by Sight Scotland and Sight Scotland Veterans, driven by the lived experience of severely sight impaired or blind people and veterans who told us the cost of a rail ticket for someone to accompany them was a barrier to travelling safely and independently.

The campaign grew from their voices, and the difference free companion rail travel makes is clear in what people have told us.

Anne Dignan, from Edinburgh, who is deafblind and has macular degeneration, described the news as “genuinely life changing. Knowing that free companion rail travel is here to stay, gives me confidence and freedom I didn’t have before.”

This is a major step towards making train travel more affordable and accessible, and this is a huge victory for everyone who helped drive this change.