All-Party Parliamentary Group on Deafness
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All-Party Parliamentary Group on Deafness Pre-briefing for APPG on Deafness meeting – 22 January 2008
British Sign Language Meeting with the Prime Minister Prime Minister’s Questions on 12 December 2007: Malcolm Bruce (Gordon) (LD): Will the Prime Minister acknowledge that while the Government rightly give tens of millions of pounds every year to support indigenous British languages such as Welsh and Gaelic, another British language—British Sign Language—gets no such support. Will the Prime Minister meet me, and a delegation of sign language users, to discuss how the Government can meet their needs, as they are currently failing to do? The Prime Minister: I am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for raising that issue, and I will be very happy to meet him. It is a very important issue, and we will see what we can do together. Introduction British Sign Language (BSL) is the first or preferred language for between 50,000 and 70,000 deaf people in the UK, and is also used on a daily basis by a further 250,000 deaf and hearing people (Irish Sign Language is also used by some people in Northern Ireland). BSL is an indigenous language of the United Kingdom. The sign language using Deaf Community should be seen primarily as a Minority Language Group rather than a Disability Group. Education Recommendations: Parents of deaf children must have the right to choose to have their child educated in a bi-cultural environment where both English and sign language have equal status. Information must be available to enable parents to make an informed choice about the most appropriate methods of communication for their deaf child and the use of sign language in their education. Training must be provided, using an appropriate family sign language curriculum, for families that choose to use sign language to communicate with their deaf child. Teachers and other professionals working with children who use sign language must be fluent in sign language, achieved by the development of an appropriate qualifications framework. Deaf children must be given the opportunity to learn about deaf culture, identity and language. BSL must be part of the national curriculum having equal status with other language subjects. Users of sign language must have the opportunity to study deaf culture, identity and language in further and higher education. Users of sign language must have equal access to further and higher education and professional and vocational training. Access to Information, Services and Cultural Activities Recommendations: Sign language users must have the right to access to information, services and cultural activities in sign language either direct or through the use of sign language interpreters. Training in sign language must be provided for service providers and others to enable them to communicate directly with sign language users. Training and support of an appropriate workforce of registered, qualified sign language interpreters such that the availability of interpreters does not impede access to information, services and cultural activities is essential. Communications Recommendations: Sign language users must have access to a choice of electronic and tele-communications. The provision of telecommunications relay services for deaf people capitalising on the improved access offered through new technology development is essential. For example, internet based text relay services, Instant Messaging (i.e. MSN) relay services, on-line video interpreting services and captioned relay services using voice recognition software. Research Recommendation: Research to support and inform the promotion and protection of British Sign Language must be funded. Legal Status Sign Language Users’ access to education, services, employment and leisure in their own language is, to some extent, covered, by implication, by, amongst others, the Disability Discrimination Act and the Human Rights Act, though no Act specifically requires the promotion and protection of British Sign Language. Other minority languages enjoy legal protection, for example the Welsh language, used by about 500,000 people, is promoted and protected by the Welsh Language Act and the Cornish language, used by about 1,000 people, is promoted and protected as a Regional Language under the terms of the Council of Europe Charter for Regional and Minority Languages. With legal protection comes significant investment. On 18 March 2003 the Government recognised British Sign Language to be a language. Andrew Smith, Secretary of State at the Department for Work and Pensions announced: “The Government recognises that British Sign Language (BSL) is a language in its own right regularly used by a significant number of people. For an estimated 70,000 deaf people it is their preferred language for participation in everyday life. BSL is a visual-gestural language with its own vocabulary, grammar and syntax. The Government understands that people who use BSL want their language to be protected and promoted in the same way some minority languages are by the Council of Europe's Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. The Council is considering how that might be achieved for indigenous sign languages. The Government will give careful consideration to any proposals which the Council might make......” In March 2007 the Minister for Disabled People signed the United Nations Convention on Human Rights. Signature signifies the intention to proceed to ratification in due course and it has been indicated by the Minister that this will take place during 2008. Ratification will mean that the UK is bound by the obligations in the Convention. The convention covers all disabilities but there are parts that are specific to sign language: Article 2 Definitions : “Language” includes spoken and signed languages… Article 9 Accessibility (e): Provide … professional sign language interpreters, to facilitate accessibility … Article 20 Personal Mobility (b): Facilitating access by persons with disabilities to quality … live assistance and intermediaries, including by making them available at affordable cost Article 21 Freedom of expression and opinion, and access to information (b): Accepting and facilitating the use of sign languages, … communication of their choice by persons with disabilities … and (e) recognising and promoting the use of sign languages Article 24 Education 3 (b): Facilitating the learning of sign language and the promotion of the linguistic identity of the deaf community; (c) Ensuring that the education of persons, and in particular children, who are … deaf or deafblind, is delivered in the most appropriate languages and modes and means of communication for the individual… 4. In order to help ensure the realisation of this right, States Parties shall take appropriate measures to employ teachers … who are qualified in sign language … and train professionals and staff who work at all levels of education. Article 30 Participation in cultural life, recreation, leisure and sport . 4. Persons with disabilities shall be entitled, on an equal basis with others, to recognition and support of their specific cultural and linguistic identity, including sign languages and deaf culture. These requirements under the UN Convention, whilst not prohibited by any Act, are not specifically covered by any Act. The Council of Europe did not include indigenous sign languages in the Charter for Regional and Minority Languages and there is no evidence that they are likely to do so in the near future. Therefore the Government must now consider creating the necessary legal framework in order to meet its aspiration of protecting and promoting British Sign Language. British Sign Language Act All the recommendations could be achieved without new legislation, however it is essential that implementation is coordinated strategically across Government Departments. The sign language using Deaf Community and the organisations that represent them believe that the best way to achieve their, and the Government’s, aspirations to protect and promote British Sign Language is a discrete Act of Parliament, creating a British Sign Language Board which would have the function of promoting and protecting British Sign Language. Its members would be appointed by the Government and it would advise Government on matters concerning sign language and advise those providing services to the public on the use of sign language in their dealings with deaf people. |
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