Chris Bennett: Storm in a teacup distracts from key issues

A Pyrrhic victory, at best, for optics is about the only description that can be applied to the recent exchange in the House of Lords on the topic of adjustable focus spectacles.

Lord Newby raised the Question for Short Debate proposing a change to the Opticians Act to allow the sale of adjustable spectacles.

Having stated his case Lord Newby, backed by a few noble colleagues, proceeded to lay into the optical establishment in a rather alarming manner. Lords queued up to accuse optics of failing to put consumers first, hard selling and protectionism ‘of the very worst kind’.

Sentiment rather than evidence was the hallmark of the debate. Peers variously confessed: they had no knowledge of eye health; there was no evidence that ready readers had stopped people getting an eye test from a qualified ophthalmologist (sic). They bemoaned: what was the difference between an eye exam and fiddling with a screw on the side