Aim: To enable people who are deaf or hard of hearing to make informed decisions about their lives.

Impact: We continue to provide free, impartial information on a range of subjects, including hearing aids, tinnitus, communication, employment, equipment, legislation and benefits. This helps people to find out more about their hearing loss or how to manage their tinnitus, as well as the equipment and services that can support them and to which they are entitled. In the past year, our Information Line and Tinnitus Helpline responded to more than 31,000 requests for information. Across the UK our information teams provided information directly to more than 35,000 people, by organising or attending events. Our website received more than 66,000 unique visitors per month.

See our impact in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Aim: To provide high-quality information and aftercare services for people who wear hearing aids.

Impact: We created our community-based Hear to Help projects, which provide simple maintenance, support and advice to new hearing aid wearers, and to the families and carers of existing wearers. By enabling people to make better use of their aids, Hear to Help leads to greater independence and reduces the risk of isolation. It also plays a part in rehabilitation, befriending and equipment assessment. We have 10 Hear to Help projects around the UK, reaching 20,000 people. We have encouraged health professionals to recognise the value of Hear to Help in relieving the strain on 'mainstream' audiology services by establishing new contracts and funding for Hear to Help from four Primary Care Trusts in England.

See our impact in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Aim: To provide equipment solutions that improve the lives of people who are deaf, hard of hearing or have tinnitus.

Impact: We supplied more than 34,000 people with life-improving products directly and an estimated 38,000 more through third parties such as social services departments. By providing low cost high quality and evaluated products we have helped to ensure that the equipment market works better for those with hearing loss and supports consumer choice.

Aim: To evaluate the performance and potential benefits of products and services to people who are deaf or hard of hearing.

Impact: We evaluated more than 70 products for our membership magazine, One in Seven and for the RNID Products catalogue, Solutions, enabling people to make informed decisions about the products that can improve their lives. We placed particular emphasis on products that alert people who are deaf or hard of hearing to events in the home, including emergencies such as fire.

Aim: To deliver high-quality communication support for people who are deaf.

Impact: In the past year, we co-ordinated the delivery of 19,544 communication assignments: 17,676 BSL/English interpreting assignments and 1,868 other communication support assignments for people whose first language is English. This enables people who are deaf to participate in work meetings, to attend doctor or hospital appointments, and to be able to communicate on an equal basis in many other vital or every day services. Our aim was to deliver 21,000 assignments, but the shortfall was partly due to the ongoing shortage of communication professionals available to deliver the support needed. We now have 549 registered from across the UK who have signed up to work with us.

Our Communication Services were awarded the quality standard ISO 9001:2000 by the British Standards Institute (BSI), the world's most established quality framework.

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Aim: To increase the quantity and quality of communication professionals available to people who are deaf or hard of hearing.

Impact: Our interpreter development work has resulted in another 14 new interpreters joining the professional register, enabling more people who are deaf or hard of hearing to access vital and everyday services. Eleven other interpreters were supported to rise to higher levels within the register. We ran eight British Sign Language (BSL) courses, at Levels 3 and 4, with more than 60 students improving their signing skills to the highest levels. All our students work in some capacity with children or adults who are deaf, and some of our students are themselves deaf.

See our impact in Scotland.

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Aim: To use technology to improve remote communication for people with hearing loss.

Impact: Our new, award-winning TalkByText PC software is already being used by many home users. It allows people who are deaf or hard of hearing to experience real-time text conversations over the internet using their PC. With almost two thousand licenses sold, the business edition is being used by a growing number of companies, educational establishments and other organisations. We also responded to the falling number of traditional textphones now on the market by completing development of a modernised and easy-to-use textphone – the first new model in the UK in five years.

Aim: To enable people who are deaf, deafblind, deafened, hard of hearing and speech-impaired to communicate with hearing people by telephone.

Impact: Text Relay is a national service, delivered on contract to BT, which connects people who are deaf, hard of hearing or speech impaired and use a textphone with friends, family and businesses over the telephone. In the past year, Text Relay has answered 1,526,900 calls, including 21,751 emergency calls, ensuring that people can stay connected to each other. In response to customer feedback, our Relay Assistants now explain how the service works only to callers who ask, so that regular callers experience no delays at the beginning of their call.

Aim: To improve access to services for people who are deaf or hard of hearing.

Impact: We installed induction loop and infrared systems at more than 500 locations to help service providers communicate better with people who are deaf or hard of hearing. Almost 100 members have given us their feedback on induction loop provision in over 500 shops and services. The more feedback we receive about loop systems not working, the more easily we can identify and target the worst offenders.

Aim: To enable people who are deaf or hard of hearing to secure employment and lead independent lives.

Impact: We delivered advice and guidance to 857 new jobseekers, almost half (42%) of whom had additional needs, so they could gain the skills needed to enter the labour market. We helped 95 jobseekers secure employment, of whom nearly 70 were still in work after three months. 177 people who are deaf or hard of hearing have accessed our IT training, Basic Skills and other learning activities.

Aim: To ensure that all our care services are safe, high-quality and operate within agreed standards and levels of risk.

Impact: Our care services were highly praised in the Annual Report by the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI): "People using RNID's services continue to benefit from high-quality services, focused on their well-being, comfort and lifestyle. Care homes for younger adults meet 87% of the national key minimum standards, above national comparators, and performance by the two care homes for older people is significantly higher than national comparators."

Our supported living services also scored well and, in some areas, higher than average in Supporting People standards.

Aim: To ensure that our residential care services offer high-quality specialist care for people who are deaf or hard of hearing.

Impact: We commissioned major improvements to the physical environment in Leopold Muller in Bath, the only specialist nursing home in the country for people who are deaf. These improvements to the building greatly increased the quality of life for those living there. We have drawn up plans for three further services to provide new models of care for people who are deaf or hard of hearing. We have also strengthened our relationships with external partners to plan the further development of these services.

Aim: To increase RNID community services for people who are deaf or hard of hearing with additional support needs so that they can live more independently.

Impact: We have significantly increased our work in this area providing supported housing and outreach services to a further 35 people. We also support 15 people who are on individual budgets, which means they can make their own choices about who supports them. We have also made three applications for registration as a domiciliary care provider, which will enable us to provide personal care support to people in their own homes, helping them maintain their independence for longer.

See our impact in Northern Ireland.

Aim: To work towards better mental health services for people who are deaf.

Impact: We have part funded and been involved in developing the Certificate in Mental Health and Deafness with the University of Birmingham, which will provide excellent learning and development for staff working with people who are deaf and have mental health needs, including RNID staff. We have also worked with the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) to develop a DVD in British Sign Language (BSL) which explains the Mental Capacity Act to people who are deaf. This is distributed by OPG nationally and has been hugely popular with more than 1,000 DVDs requested ensuring that people who are deaf are more aware of their rights.

See our impact in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

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Aim: To improve early support services so children who are deaf or hard of hearing have the same opportunities as everyone else.

Impact: The Early Support Programme has been completely rolled out as a national programme to all local authorities in England, successfully integrated into the government's new Children's Plan and will form an integral part of policy and practice for families in the future. This has benefited an estimated 10,000 families who now get an integrated family-centred approach to services, ensuring better support for children and less stress for parents.

Working with NDCS, we ensured that the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) made available, for the first time, data on the performance and achievement of children who are deaf or hard or hearing at school. From this we have been able to identify areas in which we can take action.

See our impact in Northern Ireland.

Aim: To provide life skills and learning support for young adults aged 16 to 30 who are deaf or hard of hearing.

Impact: Our Young Adult Transitions project in south-east Wales reduces isolation and improves self-confidence in young adults who are deaf or hard of hearing. It enables them to progress from dependent to independent living by making their own decisions about their futures, managing their own home lives and social activities, and maintaining good physical health. It also enables them to develop and advance their careers by joining training courses, attending structured learning programmes, taking up volunteering and seeking new employment opportunities.

Funded by the Big Lottery and Barclays, we exceeded our first year target by supporting 21 young adults (our target was 17) on a one-to-one basis. We also provided basic information, advice and signposting to 79 clients, more than half (40) of whom were local to the area.

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