Deaf News: Labour MP asks ‘Where Is The Interpreter’ in BSL in Prime Minister’s Questions

The Prime Minister has once again been asked if he will provide an in-person interpreter for his Downing Street press briefings, with a senior Labour MP signing her question in British Sign Language (BSL).

Vicky Foxcroft, the shadow minister for disabled people, signed her comments during Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs), which took place in the House of Commons earlier today.

“Why is there no interpreter in the room for the briefings,” signed Foxcroft, before continuing in spoken English. “If the Prime Minister doesn’t understand, imagine those who rely on British Sign Language feel at his press briefings.

“£2.6 million spent on the new press room, yet still no interpreter. What message does he think this sends to disabled people?”

NEW: The Shadow Minister for Disabled People, @vickyfoxcroft, signed a question in British Sign Language (BSL) earlier during today's #PMQs, as she asked the Prime Minister why he hasn't provided an in-person interpreter in his new £2.6m briefing room. #WhereIsTheInterpreter pic.twitter.com/DlOFQtjlZq

— Liam O'Dell (@LiamODellUK) April 14, 2021

In a short response to the Lewisham Deptford MP, Boris Johnson replied: “I’m grateful to the honourable lady and I’m grateful for the way she has set out her question. I will revert to her as soon as I can.”

The question comes on the same day that the Women and Equalities Committee published the UK Government’s response to its investigation into the “unequal impact” of the coronavirus on disabled people.

The reply, which was originally due on 22 February, came after the group of MPs released their report in December last year.

Recommendations to the Government included an update on the distribution of clear face masks to NHS trusts and the implementation of the list of “accessible communications asks” from the Royal National Institute for Deaf people (RNID) and other charities.

In relation to clear masks, the UK Government said that its pilot of 250,000 transparent masks from the US company ClearMask in health and social care “demonstrated that transparent masks were valued and proved a need for them”.

“Building on this pilot, soft market engagement is being undertaken and there will be an assessment of a broader scope of products from a range of manufacturers to inform future procurement.

“This assessment will test different types of transparent masks that are currently at prototype stage, against a new technical specification being developed by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA),” the Government’s response reads.

This testing will involve assessing the “need and appropriateness of different masks” for various users and settings, with different masks potentially needed for an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and speech and language therapists (SLTs).

The Government concluded by saying that any future procurement of clear masks “will be informed by this work”.

Elsewhere, in response to the committee’s comments on the RNID’s “shopping list”, the Government said: “[It] has made significant progress on the issues identified in the list from RNID and other charities, which outlined a set of concerns relating specifically to disabled people and the availability of accessible information during the pandemic.”

The charity’s document calls for “BSL interpretation to be provided as standard for all live public broadcasts” and for pre-created subtitles and a BSL interpreter to be on “all pre-recorded speeches and Government TV adverts”.

The Government added that a full breakdown of work towards the different asks in the list could be found in the annex of the document.

In this section, under the heading ‘accessible broadcasting’, the UK Government writes: “To ensure those who use BSL can receive the latest COVID-19 updates from the No10 COVID-19 press conferences live, the government provides live BSL interpretation which is available on all the Number 10 social media channels, the BBC News channel and iPlayer.

“This BSL feed is also made available to other broadcasters for them to include in their live coverage.”

No other TV channel is yet to use the BSL feed in their broadcast of the Government’s coronavirus press conferences.

The Limping Chicken has approached the RNID for comment.

Photo: @vickyfoxcroft/Twitter.

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 – 14.04.21 – 17:00: In a statement to The Limping Chicken, Ayla Ozmen, the RNID’s head of research and policy, said the charity “welcomes the Government’s engagement” on their ‘shopping list’ and the “limited progress” that has been made so far.

“However, this has been a long time coming, and there remain significant gaps. For example, there remains no BSL interpreter available for non-ministerial broadcasts and ministerial broadcasts remain inaccessible on mainstream channels.

“People who are deaf should not have to search for accessible information – it should be available at the same time and through the same channels. This remains vital as the Government rolls out vaccinations and consults on the potential for Covid certification to be adopted. 

“On clear face masks for use in health and social care settings, we are waiting to hear back from the Government’s PPE team about the progress in approving alternatives for the currently approved clear mask.  We will continue to pursue this with a strong focus both on how quickly approval will be given and then how rapidly this will be put into operation,” she said.