Tracey attended a reception at the House of Commons on 9th March held by Sense, the national deafblind charity, to mark the reissue of the Deafblind Guidance by the Department of Health.

The updated Guidance requires that Local Authorities make efforts to identify deafblind people and provide them with specialist social care assessments and support.  The Guidance was recently reissued to bring it in line with the new Care Act and Children and Families Act.

Attendees included deafblind people, and parents of deafblind children who have campaigned with Sense to secure the future of the Deafblind Guidance. Tracey met with constituents campaigning on behalf of their children to discuss the guidance.

Gill Morbey, Chief Executive at Sense said: “The updated Guidance is welcome and will, we hope, provide new impetus to Local Authorities to put it into practice where they are not already doing so.”

Tracey said“It was a pleasure meeting with Sue and Margaret, whose disabled sons live in Chatham and Aylesford. From our conversation I gained a deeper understanding of how unique deafblindness is and the importance of the Deafblind Guidance. I welcome the Guidance reissue as it ensures that deafblind people will continue to have an entitlement to the specialist assessments and support that enable them to lead active and fulfilling lives.”