Aberdeenshire Liberal Democrat MSP Alison McInnes will call for the establishment of a national transcription service to co-ordinate the provision of learning materials for all blind and partially sighted school pupils.

Alison McInnes will make the call as she leads a debate in the Scottish Parliament on the RNIB Scotland’s Right to Read campaign.

Commenting ahead of the debate, Mrs McInnes said:

“The establishment of a national transcription service is long overdue. Pupils in some areas of Scotland have to wait months for textbooks to be transcribed.

“The translation of resources by teachers consumes a vast amount of teaching time which would be better spent in the classroom. It can take hours to produce a Braille version of something that may only take 15 minutes to teach.

“A national transcription service would be more efficient and cost effective. I’ve heard first hand about the benefits of easily accessible learning materials from a young man who attributes them to being able to keep up with his fully-sighted peers at school.

“The Scottish Government must do all that it can to support measures that promote inclusive learning.”