Senedd Cymru | Welsh Parliament
Bil Aelod Arfaethedig – Mark Isherwood AS | Proposed Member Bill - Mark Isherwood MS
Datblygu'r Bil Iaith Arwyddion Prydain (BSL) (Cymru) | Development of the British Sign Language (BSL) (Wales) Bill
Ymateb gan: Rachel | Evidence from: Rachel
The British Sign Language Act 2022 requires the UK Government to issue guidance about the promotion and facilitation of the use of British Sign Language (BSL). This however only applies in England and not to the Welsh Government or public bodies in Wales such as councils or the NHS. The British Sign Language (BSL) (Wales) Bill aims to place equivalent specific duties on the Welsh Government and public bodies in Wales.
Yes as at present it is a very depressing state of affairs for Deaf people who live in Wales as far as access in BSL and how they are treated are concerned compared to Scotland and England where there are Acts that are either in situ or in progress to become an established Act. Deaf people who live in England or Scotland and are friends with those who live in Wales often report that many barriers have been addressed and they can access services and information easier (although there are some improvements that can be made) so those of us in the Deaf community in Wales feel unimportant and very behind with the times and not of an equal status to our Deaf peers who live in Scotland or England.
Yes because as a Deaf adult I have experienced numerous barriers and less favorable treatment within my higher education course, when I use my GP, when I need to attend hospital for appointments either for myself or xxxxxxxxxxx who has additional medical needs, when I worked for a public service, attended job interviews, applied for jobs, and even just when I go to my local mobile phone shop for assistance with my mobile! These are just a few examples of the multiple daily barriers that I have experienced since relocating to Wales from England 8 years ago. I have tried to voice my concerns and campaign and advocate for change to make these services deaf friendly but have often been met with hostility or lack of interest and therefore nothing has changed after I have made a complaint. The establishment of a BSL commissioner would help complaints made by Deaf BSL signers be taken seriously by the public service that is concerned and the Welsh Government need to do more to improve the lives of Deaf people living in Wales.
Yes
Yes
Yes.
To use the term BSL users implicates Deaf people are 'using' something rather than communicating in a recognized language. For example it would be ok to say you were a Makaton user if using this communication tool BECAUSE it is a TOOL rather than an established LANGUAGE. However, when we refer to BSL and those who communicate using BSL we should use the term BSL signers as this respects the status of BSL as a language rather than as something we just use. We would not say about Welsh Speakers that they 'use' Welsh they simply speak Welsh, Read Welsh, Write Welsh etc and therefore BSL deserves to be recognised just as equal to Welsh or any other language and that BOTH Deaf and hearing people can be BSL signers.
Yes.
Describing Deaf people that communicate in BSL as Deaf BSL signers acknowledges they communicate in an established language and have their own culture seperate to the rest of society who are hearing. It is insulting to use terms such as hearing impaired, hearing loss, dumb, mute etc as these implicate that we need fixing with hearing aids or other technology and that we must fit in with the hearing community and use their methods of communication ie lipreading in an attempt to communicate in English with the dominant hearing society. We are a culturally and linguistically proud group NOT a medically inferior group.
Strongly disagree.
If I had a pound for every time that I have made a complaint or tried to advocate on behalf of deaf people accessing services in BSL including myself, I would be rich by now! Some public services have indicated they would like to change and help but are restricted by limited powers to incur change i.e. they are not management level. Most often any feedback that has been reached by management has often been ignored or not seen as a priority at all and incurs extra work for them to try bring change because there no funds they can work with.
Strongly agree.
As much as there are many hearing p[people who want to be allies for the Deaf community sadly there are also some hearing individuals who do not truly listen to what we need and therefore abuse their power in society to be more likely heard than a Deaf person and advocate for things that Deaf people do not actually want! Therefore, I am a strong believer that it should be Deaf people themselves that should shape access of public services and they should not be fobbed off, be taken seriously and then action should be seen to show they truly have been listened to. There are some scenarios where indeed they consult with Deaf people;e about access to their services but new recommended policies are not implemented and its ends up just as tokenism so its important to see action as result not just consult with us.
I would like to see public services offer any way to communicate that is a Deaf persons preference to communicate with them. For example I prefer emails, text messages but other Deaf people may prefer via Relay UK app or VRS services. I would like to see services meet any communication method preferred and not fixate on only one or a few that no Deaf people may find suitable such as telephone or online services.
Education; Health; Social Care; Transport; Other Public Services used by deaf people and their families; Workplace.
Mental Health Services, Council information points, leisure centresIn Wales, the Deaf community have limited rights despite legislation such as Disability Discrimination Act 1995 and Equality Act 2010 because these only suggested 'reasonable adjustments' should be made for Deaf people and does not protect our right to use BSL itself. Reasonable adjustments are also often viewed differently by Deaf people and hearing people who have no concept of what it is like to be Deaf. Although the establishment of the BSL Act 2022 passed by the UK parliament has improved our access to general UK government services such as DWP, Home Office etc we are not covered by this Act in Wales when it comes to accessing health, social services and education; these are the Welsh Governments responsibility. Therefore we are still experiencing barriers in many places in Wales. And as a result of having to campaign, advocate, fight etc for our rights its drains our energy and our level of motivation for our daily routines to continue to the point where mental health issues significantly affect much of Deaf people in Wales including myself who needs ongoing therapy and medication to address my mental illness.
The Bill proposes to establish a BSL Commissioner who would promote and facilitate the use of BSL, and would have the same powers as other minority language Commissioners such as in the Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011.
Yes
I would like to see some effort go into a scheme that works towards increasing the number of interpreters available to work with Deaf people in Wales. There have been many occasions where I have wanted to access a service and requested an interpreter but this need could not be met as they were all booked the current number we have do not cover the needs of all Deaf people in Wales on a daily basis. I have worked with young Deaf people who have severe mental illness as a result of experiencing isolation and information deprivation within their educational settings. More needs to be done to provide the resources Deaf children and their families need to ensure that Deaf children have all their needs covered in every aspect of life and they grow into thriving adults.
Yes
Enabling deaf users/signers to lead the development of policies and implementation of services for BSL users/signers; Early years language support for deaf children and their families; Improving BSL provision in education; Access to interpreters in public services.
Deaf people's opinions and feedback has been ignored for too long in Wales and we need to see action where Deaf people will start to be seen as equals and not treated less favorably than their hearing peers when accessing any service in Wales. It is TIRING being a Deaf person in Wales and we deserve to have our rights met just as everyone else in society is especially so since Deaf people in Scotland and England have more rights than us at this present time.
Yes.
They are expected to produce an annual report for many things that affect Welsh Citizens or part of the Welsh population so therefore this should be placed of equal importance to those other essential yearly reports.
I am currently studying for my PhD at Swansea University looking into the experiences of Deaf students studying higher education in Wales. Although I am in the very early stages of my research it has come to light that many Deaf people have suffered at some point during their educational journey and many improvements need to be made for Deaf people in Wales to access education and for them to fulfill their potential. I have also been a Deaf citizen in Wales since 2018 and attempted to access employment, public services, health services and social care services and cannot say that many services in Wales are accessible to Deaf people unless they are already working with Deaf people or are designed for Deaf people specifically. A LOT of work needs to be done to make Wales a Deaf friendly place to live.
I have had to spend hours guiding and doing relay to enable 3 other Deaf people to submit their responses for this consultation. Although it was very much welcomed that they could submit their answers in BSL if they wished to do so, they were not internet or tech savvy so directing them to the you Tube videos of explanations in BSL was not sufficient for them to be able to complete their contribution alone without assistance. It is suggested that any future events where BSL signers are to be consulted especially online that there should be walk in sessions held at venues known to the Deaf community with the aim to provide them with a tool such as a laptop or a tablet to complete the online form and guide them step by step through each of the questions/ process. This was set up for the last census done in Wales and Deaf Hub Wales invited Deaf people to drop in so a BSL signer could guide them through the online process and relay complex information asked in English into BSL.
With some Deaf people I have had to relay examples of what the questions were asking of them as they have very limited awareness of general knowledge, perspectives held by other Deaf people, politics, history of deaf people etc due to having experienced poor access in their educational journey and unable to hear society conversations which is full of information that actually empowers hearing people in their lives. Deaf adults today in Wales who missed out on accessible education at school or college with limited skills and qualifications have no opportunities to learn how to be tech or internet savvy as such adult/evening classes do not offer BSL interpretation so they miss out on yet another opportunity and it affects their ability to able to contribute to such important consultations like this one that concerns every aspect of their life!