EDM 1915
ACCESS TO TELECOMMUNICATION SERVICES FOR DEAF AND HARD OF HEARING PEOPLE
16.07.2009
Bruce, Malcolm

That this House believes that deaf and severely hard of hearing people are being excluded from benefiting from modern telecommunications; recognises that improvements and modernisation are needed to the telephone relay services by which they and hearing telephone users communicate; further recognises that the technology required to bring about these improvements is available and is in use in several countries; further believes that wide availability of broadband connections will dramatically enhance the relay service facilities that can be offered; and calls on the Government to use the Digital Britain report as the basis to introduce a package of service developments and funding which will end the exclusion of a million of our fellow citizens.

EDM 1760
SOCIAL CARE FOR DEAFBLIND CHILDREN AND ADULTS
29.06.2009
Levitt, Tom

That this House welcomes the Department of Health's re-issuing of its guidance, Social care for deafblind children and adults; recognises that the guidance will have a significant impact on the 193,133 deafblind people in England; supports the calls from Sense, the UK's leading deafblind charity, that English local authorities implement the guidance without delay; acknowledges that deafblind people, their families and carers have a right to receive the appropriate level of assessment regardless of where they live and that they deserve a fair deal from their local councils; and recognises that less than half of the deafblind people identified by local authorities have received a specialist assessment and that the new guidance will reiterate that local authorities have a statutory duty to carry out proper assessments.EDM 1697
DEAF CHILDREN'S SOCIETY BIG WALK FORWARD INITIATIVE
17.06.2009
Spink, Bob

That this House recognises The Big Walk Forward - London as an excellent opportunity to re-discover what the UK's great capital has to offer on foot whilst raising money for local deaf children societies or the National Deaf Children's Society; and commends those who took part in The Big Walk Forward 2008 and successfully raised thousands of pounds for deaf children's societies.EDM 1565
THE ELIZABETH FOUNDATION
02.06.2009
Singh, Marsha

That this House recognises the unique and vital service that The Elizabeth Foundation provides to deaf children from newborn to five years old and their families; notes with concern that the foundation will close at the end of July 2009 if funding of £120,000 per annum cannot be secured; and calls on the Government to help save this serviceEDM 1381
ACOUSTICS IN SCHOOLS
28.04.2009
Spink, Bob

That this House is deeply concerned that new schools are being built which do not comply with government standards on acoustics; notes that children suffering from deafness are much less likely to get five good GCSEs than hearing children; agrees with the National Deaf Children's Society that deafness is not a learning disability and that poor quality acoustics is one of several barriers preventing deaf children being able to achieve their full potential; and calls on the Government to require new schools to be tested for acoustics pre-completion, to monitor and review the quality of acoustics in schools annually, and to ensure that all schools adhere to acoustic standards.EDM 1376
DEAF AWARENESS WEEK 2009
28.04.2009
Spink, Bob

That this House notes that there are nine million deaf and hard-of-hearing people in the UK; and welcomes the opportunity to promote deaf awareness across all parts of society through Deaf Awareness Week, running from 4 to 10 May, involving over 100 deaf charities and organisations.EDM 934
DEAFLYMPICS GAMES AND DEAF ATHLETES
02.03.2009
Bruce, Malcolm

That this House congratulates the Deaflympics as the second oldest multi-sport and cultural festival in the world, with a proud history stretching back to the first Deaflympic Games in Paris in 1924; notes the opportunity that the Games present in allowing deaf athletes the chance to participate and enjoy an Olympic experience; further notes that deaf athletes do not have the chance to participate in Paralympic Games; recognises the struggle the Great Britain Deaflympics team has faced in raising funds to support the team; further recognises that some athletes may be unable to compete at the next championships due to lack of funds; calls on the Government to support the team in any way it can, including by encouraging greater engagement through the national sporting bodies; and extends its very best wishes for the Great British team in the forthcoming Deaflympic Games in Taiwan in September 2009.EDM 704
SIGNING ON ITV WALES NEWS
05.02.2009
Michael, Alun

That this House regrets the decision of ITV Wales to discontinue the provision of British Sign Language (BSL) translation of news headlines on their flagship news programme Wales Tonight; recognises that subtitling is not equivalent to BSL provision as BSL is a language in itself; calls upon broadcasters to ensure there is adequate BSL-interpreted output in their programming; and specifically calls on ITV Wales immediately to reverse this decision and to maintain this service in the long term.

EDM 449
RNID READ MY LIPS! CAMPAIGN
14.01.2009
Spink, Bob

That this House congratulates the RNID on its Read my lips! campaign to improve access to lip-reading; notes that there are nine million deaf and hard of hearing people in the UK and understands the critical importance of lip-reading classes so these people can retain their dignity and independence in work and socially; further notes with concern that a number of counties have introduced fees for these classes and that this is causing hardship, and sometimes preventing vulnerable people benefiting from lip-reading classes; and therefore asks Ministers to kindly follow up previous calls for this matter to be investigated and to seek to persuade county councils, such as Essex which is one of the worst offenders, to take a more caring attitude to lip-reading class charges.