UK Council on Deafness

September 2003 Parliamentary Report

In this Report

• British Sign Language - Lords Written Answers (9 Sept 2003)
• Specialist Teaching (Sign Language) - Commons Written Answers (15 Sept 2003)
• Mental Health Services for Deaf People - Commons Written Answers (17 Sept 2003)
• Sign Language - Commons Written Answers (18 Sept 2003)

Lords Written Answers (9 Sept 2003)
British Sign Language

Lord Harris of Haringey asked Her Majesty's Government:

What provisions are being made to ensure that students, professionals and public agencies have access to British Sign Language training at the Council for the Advancement of Communication with Deaf People to NVQ and degree level in London.

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Education and Skills (Baroness Ashton of Upholland): A wide range of courses and qualifications in the use of British Sign Language (BSL) is available throughout the United Kingdom, including London.

The Government made a position statement on 18 March recognising British Sign Language (BSL) as a language in its own right regularly used by a significant number of people. At the same time, the Government announced that they would make available £1 million to fund a discrete programme of initiatives to support the statement. Among its priorities is increasing opportunities for people to learn BSL to a professional level. A working group comprising key government departments and organisations of and for deaf people, including the Council for the Advancement of Communication with Deaf People, has been established to advise on priorities for allocating the additional funding. We will respond to the working group's recommendations in due course.

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Commons Written Answers (15 Sept 2003)
Specialist Teaching (Sign Language)

Mr. Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many schools in the UK specialise in teaching those who are hard of hearing; what funding is afforded to them; where sign language is taught in state schools; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Miliband: The Department does not hold this information for Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland. In England, there are 1,088 maintained special schools, of which 13 have hearing impairment as their primary category of need, and three have hearing impairment as their secondary category of need. In addition, there are eight non-maintained special schools, which specialise in hearing impairment.

According to a survey conducted by the British Association of Teachers of the Deaf (BATOD) in 2000, of the 25,019 children taught by teachers of the deaf, 67 per cent were in mainstream schools, 14 per cent in units attached to mainstream schools, and 19 per cent in special schools.

In maintained special schools, funding is usually related to a set number of places, with the individual place cost determined by the complexity of learning needs that the school has to address. The average budget share for a pupil in a maintained special school is £10,800. Government support for non-maintained special schools comes primarily from the Devolved Capital Formula, the Standards Fund and School Standards Grant.

The Department does not hold records centrally indicating where sign bilingualism is taught in schools. However, the BATOD survey suggested that sign bilingualism was used by 6 per cent of children (601 in schools for the deaf and 410 in units attached to mainstream schools).

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Commons Written Answers (17 Sept 2003)
Mental Health Services for Deaf People

Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many graduate primary care mental health workers there are in each NHS region.

Ms Rosie Winterton: The NHS Plan set out that one thousand new graduate primary care workers trained in brief therapy techniques of proven effectiveness will be recruited to help general practitioners manage and treat mental common mental health problems. The target date set for local services through priorities and planning guidance is December 2004; training courses have just been established and arrangements to monitor recruitment are currently in hand. This means that the information requested about the employment by specialised trusts of new graduate workers is not yet available.

Mr. Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Health

(1) what steps the Government are taking to improve mental health services for deaf people; and when he expects to see the results from these improvements;

(2) what action the Government are taking with regard to the consultation document, "A Sign of the Times";

(3) what steps he plans to take to implement the proposals in the consultation document, "A Sign of the Times"; and how he plans to measure the effectiveness of the changes;

(4) what steps the Government are taking to monitor the impact of the National Services Framework for mental health services on deaf and hard of hearing patients; and what the results are.

Ms Rosie Winterton [holding answer 16 September 2003]: The Government's strategy for mental health services in England is set out in the "National Service Framework for Mental Health" which specifies seven standards that people should be able to expect from services. The National Service Framework standards apply to all people of working age who have mental health problems including those who are deaf or hard of hearing.

"A Sign of the Times", a consultation document on modernising mental health services for people who are deaf, sought the views of all stakeholders on a number of proposals to improve services for deaf and deafblind users of mental health services through a consultation exercise which ended in April. The Department will publish implementation guidance later in the year that will take all responses to "A Sign of the Times" into account.

It is envisaged that the implementation guidance will set out comprehensive arrangements for performance management of the implementation process.

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Commons Written Answers (18 Sept 2003)
Sign Language

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 17 July 2003, Official Report, column 527W,

(1) what progress the British Sign Language working group has made towards distributing the money his Department has allocated to the recognition of British Sign Language; and if he will make a statement on how this programme of initiatives will increase access to services and the number of BSL interpreters;

(2) if he will make a statement on his Department's continued support for the implementation of the recognition of British Sign Language further to the money allocated on 18 March.

Maria Eagle: The British Sign Language working group, which is an advisory group, has met twice to consider priorities for allocating the additional £1 million we have made available, and to consider draft specifications for initiatives which would best support the 18 March statement. We have received the working group's recommendations which involve action to promote access for BSL users through awareness raising, and action which will contribute to establishing a framework to support BSL tutors. Over time this will result in an increase in the number of BSL interpreters. Officials will shortly start a formal tendering exercise.

The working group will also be doing some longer-term strategic thinking and we will receive their advice in due course on policies and initiatives which would, over time, further increase access for Deaf people who use BSL.

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