Scottish and Welsh Parliaments back British Sign Language Bill as consent motions pass

The Scottish and Welsh Parliaments have passed legislative consent motions (LCMs) which allow the British Sign Language (BSL) Bill currently in the UK Parliament to apply to the devolved nations.

The LCM, which came as the BSL Bill concerns a devolved matter, received unanimous support in Holyrood, but was objected to by Plaid Cymru members in the Senedd.

Deputy Leader Rhun ap Iorwerth MS, told fellow members while “it’s clear” which way the two LCMs in the Parliament on Tuesday would go, he wanted to “declare once again, we are not content – time and time again – to see our competence being undermined in such a throwaway manner by the UK Parliament”.

The objection meant a vote was postponed until the end of the day in ‘Voting Time’, where 43 members supported the motion and 11 voted against it. There were no abstentions.

While the Scottish Parliament agreed to the LCM without debate, the Welsh Parliament discussed the BSL Bill before voting on their motion.

NEW: Here's the moment MSPs expressed their support for a consent motion on the British Sign Language (BSL) Bill, which means the Scottish Parliament consents to the UK Parliament Bill applying to Scotland if passed. pic.twitter.com/xQfqu8VhBD

— Liam O'Dell (@LiamODellUK) April 26, 2022

Jenny Rathbone MS, chair of the Senedd’s Equality and Social Justice Committee, said: “I hope that we will all unanimously want to pass this measure in conjunction with the UK Parliament, but I think that we need to reflect on how we can reach out to this quite vulnerable and isolated community.”

Huw Irranca-Davies MS, chair of the Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee, added his group of MSs wanted to highlight the “important issue” around how backbenchers can bring forward their own bills.

He said: “While a member’s legislative proposal on this important subject has been noted by members of the Senedd, an opportunity for a member to introduce legislation in this area has not arisen and we’re saddened by that.

“It’s actually a missed opportunity to make legislation in Wales, for Wales.”

His remarks referenced a legislative proposal for British Sign Langauge in Wales put forward by Conservative MS Mark Isherwood last year, which passed without triggering “the full legislative process”.

In his contributions, Mr Isherwood said he was “delighted” to hear Labour MP Rosie Cooper speak about her BSL Bill on the radio, and shared a statement from British Deaf Association (BDA) chair David Buxton that the charity’s BSL audit report will be resubmitted to the Welsh Government “shortly”.

NEW: Here's the moment (cut off at the end a bit) when the Welsh Parliament voted through the Legislative Consent Motion on the British Sign Language (BSL) Bill.

43 were in favour, 11 were against. It's now full steam ahead to the third reading in the UK Parliament tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/m1zQfVIQ50

— Liam O'Dell (@LiamODellUK) April 26, 2022

Commenting on behalf of the Welsh Government, Minister for Social Justice Jane Hutt MS said: “This Bill was limited to the promotion and facilitation of BSL in the communication of UK Government bodies to the public which will, when implemented, make an important contribution to the lives of BSL users and our objectives for a more equal Wales.

“We are reviewing how we improve the use of BSL in how the Welsh Government communicates with the public […] We will be taking forward the BDA’s audit in the work through the Disability Rights Taskforce […and] in their report, they are recommending that the Welsh Government considers bringing forward legislation on BSL.”

Meanwhile, in an email to members of the British Deaf Association ahead of the BSL Bill’s third reading in the UK Parliament on Wednesday, CEO Rebecca Mansell said the charity is “planning a national BSL Act Celebration” to take place “if and when the Bill has passed”.

“We will be back in touch soon with more information,” she said.

Photo: ScottishParliament.TV/Senedd.TV.

By Liam O’Dell. Liam is an award-winning Deaf freelance journalist and campaigner from Bedfordshire. He can be found talking about disability, theatre, politics and more on Twitter and on his website.