A North Wales Assembly Member, who is himself a hearing-aid wearer, has called on the Welsh Government to consider calls made at the North Wales ‘Lend Me Your Ears 2018’ Conference at the weekend for British Sign Language legislation in Wales.
Mr Isherwood, who has long been calling for more support for the deaf community and people with hearing loss in Wales, made the plea when asking for a Welsh Government Statement on British Sign Language during yesterday’s Business Statement.
He said:
“I believe the last Statement made by the Welsh Government was made by our former colleague Carl Sargeant on 20 October 2016 when he rightly said that: 'For Deaf people who use British Sign Language (BSL), appropriate communication support contributes to social inclusion and equal access to services...as a gateway to opportunities which hearing people take for granted such as taking part in parents’ evenings and community events, as well as supporting people to find and retain employment.'
“However, last Saturday, I attended the 2018 'Lend Me Your Ears' Conference for adults and parents of children with hearing loss in North Wales at Bangor University, where we heard members of the deaf community and BSL speakers, academics, speaking at the conference, as well as academics at Bangor University, saying we need BSL legislation in Wales, looking at the BSL (Scotland) Act launched in 2015 and their national BSL Plan published in October 2017, establishing a National Advisory Group including up to 10 deaf people who use BSL as their preferred or first language.
“Although the Assembly and Welsh Government do not have specific legislative powers in relation to British Sign Language, the powers we have in relation to equal opportunities would enable us to pass a law in relation to British Sign Language, so long as it relates to the use of BSL by any of the ‘Equal opportunity authorities’. I therefore call for a Statement to reflect the genuine passion, concern and evidence expressed by members of the deaf community and academics at last Saturday's annual conference in Bangor.”
In her reply, the Leader of the House, Julie James AM, said: “We're very committed to creating an inclusive education system for all learners, regardless of their needs, and very much support the right of learners to access education through British Sign Language where required. Local authorities do have a legal duty to provide suitable education for all children, and that includes the provision of BSL. We are investing in the training and development needed to strengthen the capacity of specialist services. And our Additional Learning Needs and Education Tribunal (Wales) Act 2018 is at the heart of our work to transform the education and support for children and young people with additional learning needs in Wales”.
Mr Isherwood added: “In all of her response, there was no reference to the legislation called for by deaf people and the deaf community at last Saturday’s North Wales conference, people whose own practical experience has left them calling for a BSL Wales Act in order to increase its delivery in public services and give them a voice in the design and delivery of services.”