Deaf News: British Sign Language Bill proposal passes in Welsh Parliament

The Welsh Parliament has voted to support a motion proposing a British Sign Language (BSL) Bill for Wales, in a win for deaf campaigners.

The motion, introduced by Conservative MS Mark Isherwood, requested Parliament “[note] a proposal for a Bill that would make provision to encourage the use of British Sign Language (BSL) in Wales, and improve access to education and services in BSL”.

“The purpose of the Bill would be to ensure that the deaf community and people with hearing loss have a voice in the design and delivery of services to ensure they meet the needs of service users [and] establish a BSL national advisory group to empower the BSL community in Wales,” it reads.

Here's the vote breakdown for the motion:

For – 47
Abstain – 15
Against – 0#BSLBillWales

— Liam O'Dell (@LiamODellUK) February 24, 2021

The motion goes on to say that the Bill would require the Welsh Government and public bodies “to co-produce and publish” their own BSL plans.

Moving his motion, Isherwood said: “My proposed BSL Bill for Wales seeks to ensure that the deaf community, and people with hearing loss, have a voice in the design and delivery of services, to ensure they meet the needs of service users, with actions including the establishment of a BSL national advisory group in Wales.”

The MS went on to mention a petition submitted by Wales’ deaf youth forum Deffo! in 2019 – which called on the Parliament to “improve access to education and services in BSL” – adding that the group have expressed “disappointment that nothing has happened since then”.

Meanwhile, the proposed bill has been described as “an enormous step forward” by the British Deaf Association, who have been commissioned by the Welsh Government to produce a ‘BSL Charter’ for the country.

The Royal National Institute for Deaf people (RNID) added that a bill “would not be a means to an end in itself”, but it would “act as a platform to ensure improved services for the deaf community and people with hearing loss”.

Supporting the proposals, Plaid Cymru’s Dai Lloyd MS said: “In an ideal world, the majority of our population would, naturally, respect the rights of any minority, looking at everyone as being equal.

“But, as we know, that isn’t always the case, with the expectation that the minority will comply with the priorities of the majority for all sorts of different reasons.

“So, we must safeguard the rights of the minority through law. We cannot rely on the goodwill of the majority,” he said.

Referencing the BSL (Scotland) Act, which passed in 2015, Conservative MS Suzy Davies said: “[It] has led to some positive improvements in service provision for BSL users in Scotland, with the Act upgrading BSL, as we heard, from a minority language to a language in its own right – but I think the key thing is that public services have started to pay attention.”

However, in response to Isherwood’s motion, Deputy Minister and Chief Whip Jane Hutt MS said whilst the proposal is “noted and recognised”, it needs to be reviewed “at this stage” once the BDA has completed its audit of Government services and policies.

She said: “We’ve got the BSL audit and BSL consultation engagement as a strong basis to consider our BSL support services in Wales – how they might be improved and how skills may be enhanced right across Wales.

“Once the audit process is complete, we anticipate signing up to the British Deaf Association’s BSL charter.

“As an organisation, this will allow us to lead by example and promote good practice, and, indeed, consider those opportunities that we have, as you’ve brought forward today, Mark Isherwood.”

The minister went on to object to noting the proposal, with the motion going to a vote later in the day.

The final result saw 37 votes cast in support, 15 votes to abstain and none against.

The full debate is available to watch back with BSL interpretation on the Welsh Parliament website, along with a written transcript of the discussion.

Photo: Ismail Mia/Flickr.

By Liam O’Dell. Liam is a mildly deaf freelance journalist and campaigner from Bedfordshire. He wears bilateral hearing aids and can be found talking about disability, theatre, politics and more on Twitter and on his website.

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Update – 25.02.21: The article was amended to correct the voting figures (37 votes were cast in favour, not 47 as previously stated) and to mention Deffo’s BSL petition.

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Update – 01.03.21: Following clarification from Mr Isherwood on Twitter, a line in this article about the motion moving to the next stage in the legislative process has been removed.

In a thread on Thursday, Isherwood said that the debate “provided an opportunity for debate on the proposal”, but without it triggering “the full legislative process”.

“The passing of the Motion meant that the Senedd noted the proposal, rather than endorsed it, and no further proceedings will happen on the proposal unless the Welsh Government, or a Member via the backbench ballot decides to introduce an actual Bill in the next Senedd.

“However, as all parties voted in favour of the motion there is clearly an appetite for such BSL legislation across the Senedd chamber. We will continue to pursue this on behalf of the D/deaf community,” he said.