Cedric Moon: How the Welsh Government and Gwent Police failed the Deaf Community (BSL)

Introduction

The Deaf community relies heavily on qualified Sign Language (BSL) interpreters to communicate with statutory bureaucracies, especially for NHS related appointments. The Interpreters were commissioned by charities for Deaf people, including the South West Wales Interpretation Agency at Swansea, later taken over by the RNID, the Wales Council for the Deaf and British Deaf Association. The system operated by the charities was easily understood by their Deaf clients. A Deaf patient would contact the charity for an interpreter at a NHS appointment and the charity would discuss this with the Health Board concerned, agree payment for the appointment, and inform the Deaf patient that a named interpreter would be present for the appointment.

Although the system was not foolproof, it was Deaf friendly, fairly bureaucracy free and easily understood by Deaf users.

Background

Then in 2009 a bureaucratic triarchy comprising of Gwent Police, Cardiff Council and the Cardiff and Vale University Health Board instigated an initiative to provide an interpreter service for foreign born nationals who wanted access to statutory services, such as the NHS and courts. The well intentional initiative that was designed to save public money and reduce bureaucracy. The entity was known as the Welsh Interpreter and Translation Service (WITS) and was based in a Gwent Police station, managed by senior Gwent Police officers. Up to 2014 it was managed by a police Chief Inspector, then to 2016, by a police Superintendent. (FoI 2021/23863) It questionable whether Gwent Police had the spare capacity to run a business or even the legal powers to do so.

However, it was decided by the WITS instigators to include British Sign Language (BSL) interpreting services for Deaf people. There was no consultation with the Deaf community about this seizure of Sign Language services. Gwent Police and WITS unilaterally and undemocratically took control of the well tried and trusted BSL interpreter services away from the charities providing Sign Language services for Deaf people. Gwent Police administered the WITS even though it was later admitted that ‘it had no powers to trade’ and was effectively acting illegally. In 2010 the Welsh Government Minister, Carl Sargeant AM, launched the WITS and brushed aside concerns about including BSL interpreter services within the service. The Welsh Government abandoned its duty of care to the Deaf community.

Effect on Deaf Community

The WITS entity drove a wrecking ball through the Deaf community’s well tried BSL interpreter system and took away their control over interpreter appointments at hospitals. Control for booking interpreter appointments was handed over to NHS bureaucrats. Instead of reducing bureaucracy, it increased it. The bureaucrats now had responsibility for booking Sign Language interpreters with WITS. No training was given to them on how to deal with requests from Deaf patients. As a result, when Deaf people arrived for a NHS appointment, they sometimes found that no interpreter had been booked by the NHS bureaucrats. The BSL interpreter system became mired in red tape. Deaf people were refused permission to book interpreters direct from WITS. The bookings having to be made through the NHS bureaucrats. This situation imposed additional stress of Deaf patients. Deaf people who want confirmation of a WITS booking have to contact WITS or their Health Board themselves for confirmation. People should automatically get that confirmation as with the previous pre-WITS system.

The problems caused to the Deaf community by WITS are exposed in a recent book, A North Gower Sojourner. The Cardiff Deaf People’s Group helped to secure a five-figure compensation sum from a Health Board for a Deaf patient failed by the Welsh Government approved WITS system.

Welsh Government Minister apologies for the failure to consult Deaf Community and blames Gwent Police

In a recent letter to a Senedd (Welsh Parliament) Member, the Minister for Social Justice, Jane Hutt MS, has given belated and long overdue “apologies if consultation with the D/deaf community was not undertaken in 2010 prior to the setup of WITS.” The belated apology is an acknowledgement that the WITS system as devised is flawed. The apology also acknowledges that the Welsh Government failed to ensure that the interests of the Deaf Community was safeguarded.

The Minister then went on to say that “WITS was created in November 2009 by the then Gwent Police Chief Inspector Tony Wilcox and formally established on 13 October 2010. Since 2010, we have received a range of formal queries about the establishment of the Wales Interpretation and Translation Service (WITS), particularly in relation to the British Sign Language (BSL) provision which it offers.”

“For more information regarding any possible consultations or any impact assessments delivered when forming WITS, I would suggest that you contact Gwent Police – the body that managed the creation of WITS.” The Welsh Government firmly laid the blame on Gwent Police for the absence of consultation with the Deaf Community.

The Support Group has asked Cardiff Council, the Gwent Police Commissioner, and the Cardiff & Vale Health Board to endorse the Minister’s apology. In January 2024 Cllr Chris Weaver, Cardiff Council Cabinet Member for Finance, wrote to say, “I apologise if consultation with the D/deaf community was not undertaken in 2010 prior to the setup of WITS.”

In 2018, the Chair of the Cardiff & Vale Health Board, Maria Battle, said to a meeting of Deaf people “I am so, so sorry for the experiences that you have endured over many, many years.” This has been reiterated by the present Chair, Professor C Janczewski, who also apologised for the Health Board’s failure for not consulting the Deaf community prior to WITS taking control of BSL interpreting in 2010.

Alone, Gwent Police shamefully remain silent on an apology.

The introduction of the WITS system for Sign Language interpreting has some parallels with the Post Office Horizon system. With both WITS and Horizon, there was no consultation with users. Concerns about WITS and Horizon were brushed aside. There is no doubt that the health of some deaf patients deteriorated because of failings within the WITS system. WITS does not keep records of failings in the system, these are kept by the Health Boards. Fatal illness aggregated by WITS failures are hard to record.

Following pressure from the Deaf community and Welsh Parliament (Senedd) members, WITS Advisory Board met on 24 January 2024, and asked members to consider a draft BSL Paper with recommendations to undertake further consultation with the D/deaf community on arranging their own interpreter support. WITS partners were asked if they were content for WITS to undertake the consultation, with partners advertising the survey with their D/deaf customers and contacts in appropriate groups/clubs. Findings would be brought back to a subsequent Advisory Board for further discussion.

The Support Group has written to the Gwent Police Commissioner to make it clear that an apology to the Deaf Community is long overdue. In addition, the question of compensation for Deaf people failed by the Gwent Police designed WITS system has to be considered.

Cedric Moon Secretary
Cardiff Deaf People’s Support Group