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- How We Can Help
BSL Legal does not take any responsibility for individual business arrangements made when making a direct booking with a British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter or translator. BSL Legal acts as an introduction platform and does not charge for its services.
BSL Legal does not take any responsibility for individual business arrangements made when making a direct booking with a British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter or translator. BSL Legal acts as an introduction platform and does not charge for its services.
Interpreters. Not all D/deaf people use British Sign Language (BSL) but if they do they have a right to use fully trained and qualified interpreter – especially when they are communicating with Health or Legal professionals. Always ask to see the interpreters NRCPD badge or qualification.
- 1. Introduction
- 2. Context and background
- 3. Reporting requirements for government departments
- 4. Good practice and case studies by department
- 5. Summary and next steps
- 6. Annex: BSL activity by ministerial department
The British Sign Language (BSL) Act 2022 received Royal Assent on 28 April 2022. It was introduced to the House of Commons as a Private Members’ Bill by Rosie Cooper MP and gained cross-party and government support.
The act legally recognises BSL as a language of England, Scotland and Wales (but not Northern Ireland, where equality law is devolved). It also requires the government to begin reporting on the use of BSL by ministerial departments in their public communications.
This publication is the first report to that end, covering the period from 28 June 2022 to 30 April 2023, as set out in part 2 of the act. This report captures data on BSL usage in government communications for the first time, and sets a baseline for ministerial departments from which they can improve their promotion and facilitation of BSL in the months and years ahead.
Accessibility is essential in government communications and engagement. The government must communicate effectively so that everyone has access to important information and can engage with the government on issues that will affect them. It is vital that we understand how policy and communications affect citizens, understand their needs and requirements, and make our communications as inclusive and accessible as possible.
2.1 Deafness and BSL use in the UK
According to the Royal National Institute for Deaf People (RNID), 1 in 5 people (or 12 million people) in the UK are Deaf or hard of hearing. The RNID estimates that there will be around 14.2 million adults with hearing loss by 2035. Many people with hearing loss will rely on closed captioning (subtitles) to access audio-visual content such as TV and cinema programmes, advertisements, and social media videos. According to current statistics, there are around 151,000 BSL users in total, of whom 87,000 are Deaf. This figure does not include professional BSL users, interpreters, translators, and so on, unless they use BSL at home. In total, there are 25,000 people in the UK who use BSL as their main language. BSL is not a signed version of written or spoken English, and its vocabulary and syntax are different. This means that, particularly if individuals have been Deaf from birth or early childhood, subtitles or written English for BSL users are not an adequate alternative. BSL users in the UK can face social exclusion as a direct result of linguistic exclusion, negatively impacting their employment, education, and access to healthcare.
2.2 Equality legislation
BSL was recognised as a language in its own right by a Written Ministerial Statement to the House of Commons on 18 March 2003 by the then Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, the Rt Hon Andrew Smith MP. This sought to place BSL on a similar level to many indigenous languages in the UK as recognised by the Council of Europe’s Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. The BSL Act went further and legally recognised BSL as a language of England, Wales and Scotland. The BSL Act works in tandem with existing legislation, most notably the Equality Act 2010, which requires ‘reasonable adjustments’ to be made by a wide range of people and sectors to ensure that disabled people have equal access to goods and services. Public sector organisations may, therefore, be required to make use of BSL in certain circumstances. Public sector organisations may also consider the use of BSL in relation to the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED). The BSL Act 2022 preserves the architecture of the Equality Act 2010 while also placing a new BSL reporting requirement on the government.
2.3 BSL Advisory Board
To sit alongside the BSL Act, the government has established a non-statutory board of BSL users to advise it on matters arising from the act and of importance to Deaf people. The BSL Advisory Board will advise the government on the guidance detailed in the BSL Act and its implementation to best represent the Deaf community. The Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work, Tom Pursglove MP, appointed 17 members from across the UK to the BSL Advisory Board, which is co-chaired by Craig Crowley MBE and a senior civil servant. BSL Advisory Board members include: Zoe Fudge-Ajadi and Vicki Ashmore, Deaf/Blind tactile BSL signers who co-founded the charity BRIGHT Deafblind BSL Asif Iqbal MBE, a rehabilitation officer for Deaf and hard of hearing people who has spent his career in the public and not-for-profit sectors to increase representation and remove barriers for Deaf and disabled people Scott Garthwaite, the Punk Chef of Michelin star restaurant Hambleton Hall The main criteria for appointment for all independent members included a lived experience of BSL and a willingness to work collaboratively in assisting the government to ensure its information, communications and services are as accessible as possible. The members have been appointed for 3-year terms, and the Board has met twice so far.
Government departments and organisations already create accessible communications, including increasing use of BSL translations and interpreting. However, there is more to do to ensure that government departments and organisations improve the experience of Deaf people when they interact with the government.
The act requires that nearly all ministerial government departments must report on how they are promoting and using BSL in their communications with the public. For the purposes of the act, only core departments need to report on how they promote and use BSL in their communications. Agencies, non-departmental public bodies and other arm’s-length bodies are not in scope of the act, but are encouraged to use BSL translation and interpreting where it meets the needs of their audiences.
The act specifically covers any public announcement on policy or changes to the law, such as plans, strategies, policies, and consultations and responses. It also mentions press conferences, social media, and websites.
The BSL reporting duty is not intended to capture detail about individual requests for BSL interpretation services in front-facing operational delivery as a reasonable adjustment under the Equality Act 2010 – for example, in health or education settings, ports, police stations, courts, Jobcentres, etc.
The BSL Act 2022 does not require the government to report on any personal communications with individuals that may have been translated into BSL, such as ministerial letters to individuals, Freedom of Information requests, correspondence, or meetings with ministers or officials, where there has been a request for a BSL translator.
The reporting duty is primarily focused on information intended to be shared with the wider public. This approach gives ministerial departments the opportunity to build on good practice, share knowledge and increase the provision of BSL interpretation where it is necessary to do so. According to the terms of the act, the information will be collated by the Cabinet Office Disability Unit every year, and the findings set out or summarised in a report at least every 3 years.
4.1 Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)
DWP has set up a dedicated YouTube BSL channel for BSL content so that the content can be found more easily. The DWP BSL YouTube channel has over 2,000 subscribers and 166 videos covering topics from individual benefits and entitlements to policy proposals (‘White Papers’ and ‘Green Papers’). Within the reporting period, DWP has produced 9 public announcement videos, 9 consultation videos, 5 social media videos and 3 other videos produced in BSL. These include: Disability Cost of Living Payments – Information for customers Cost of Living Payments How Jobcentre Plus can help you recruit Work Capability Assessments Carer’s Allowance - What You Need to Do An Introduction to Carer’s Allowance Out of Work Disability Benefit Reform (briefing note by Social Security Advisory Committee) Response to Social Security Advisory Committee report on DWP engagement with disabled people Transforming Support: The Health and Disability White Paper - Foreword/Executive Summary (and multiple other BSL videos for each chapter of the White Paper) BSL Twitter videos: Meeting the new Co-Chair, BSL Advisory Board Visit to Derby School for Deaf World Hearing Day BSL Conference 1-Year BSL Act Anniversary The initial BSL project launched in 2018 following a recommendation from a Ministerial Taskforce to improve DWP’s BSL content. Previously DWP’s BSL videos tended to be limited to policy propositions, usually on topics such as disability benefits or reform. The DWP Accessible Design team’s initial work focused on reviewing what the department was doing, how it could improve its content, and how they might bring BSL video production in-house. The DWP Accessible Design team leader said: “We needed to understand the language and barriers facing BSL users and then implement the format into our team. All of this took time! Our latest projects are significantly quicker thanks to having an established operating model and standards to work to.” The videos are made in a variety of formats, include an audio overlay, and are captioned. The team often uses 2 translators, especially on longer-form or complex topics, and videos are presented in a relaxed question-and-answer format. DWP has engaged charities such as the British Deaf Association (BDA), RNID and other partners and stakeholders to support content development and approve the design format for customers. Native BSL speakers at DWP also review and suggest improvements to content. A member of the BSL testing team said: “It was great to have the opportunity to test out the new DLA for children products. I enjoyed these videos and really like this dialogue style of communicating information, where 2 Deaf people are having a conversation in BSL about a topic. Involving colleagues like me really helps to make sure we produce the highest quality information products that work well for the audience, it is inclusive and shows when we need to try something different, we can adapt what we do to suit our audience’s needs.”
4.2 Cabinet Office
The Cabinet Office Disability Unit (which works to the Department for Work and Pensions Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work) has produced a number of public communications in BSL in the reporting period. Of particular note was the appointment of the BSL Advisory Board Co-chair, Craig Crowley MBE which was announced on 28 November 2022. The announcement included a press notice which was translated into BSL, and a video of the co-chair signing his greeting and 2 Minister for Disabled People and co-chair signed meeting videos (1 and 2). Other BSL content from the Cabinet Office Disability Unit included: BSL Advisory Board Appointments BSL Advisory Board Ministerial Foreword BSL Advisory Board Application Guidance Improving disabled people’s access to let residential premises: consultation Scotland GRR - Section 35 - Statement of Reasons UK 2022 follow-up report to UNCRPD 2016 inquiry Other Disability Unit Tweets in BSL included: National BSL Day BSL Conference Royal School for the Deaf Derby Parliamentary debate on why assistive technology for disabled people matters
4.3 Home Office
Since the BSL Act was passed, the Home Office has been working to improve BSL provision across the department. Given previous difficulties with sourcing BSL interpreters, the Home Office decided to procure a new contract with a specialist provider of BSL who could meet the needs of the Home Office for both internal and customer use. Home Office staff held roundtables with several charities and internal networks to build their understanding of what service was required so that it could procure an effective provider. Engagement sessions were held with BDA, RNID, RCSLT (Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists), RADP (Royal Association for Deaf People), BSL interpreters/lip speakers from Lipspeaker UK (a specialist interpretation service) and the NRCPD (National Registers of Communication Professionals working with Deaf and Deafblind People). Internal engagement sessions were held with members and chairs of ABLE (the Home Office Disability Network), the co-chairs of the Civil Service Deaf and Hard of Hearing Network, the Defra Hearing Loss Network and the Disability Champions Network, along with surveying civil servants who have lived experience with deafness and hearing loss. The contract with a new provider was signed on 11 April 2023. This has already led to an increase in the number of requests for BSL interpretation. There have been 8 publications during the reporting period with British Sign Language: Commissioning services to tackle violence against women and girls Government forced marriage guidance: British Sign Language version Creating an offence of public sexual harassment: BSL resources Supporting male victims(tackling violence against women and girls) Tackling Domestic Abuse Plan Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Domestic Abuse Act statutory guidance (consultation outcome) Domestic Abuse Act 2021 statutory guidance: British Sign Language version
The duties in the BSL Act encourage government departments to improve how they communicate with, and meet the needs of the Deaf community. There is no ‘one size fits all’ approach that will suit every government department. Different departments will approach, and have approached, implementation of the BSL Act differently to suit the needs of their specific audiences.
That said, this first report shows that although there are pockets of good practice, there is also scope to go further. This report therefore represents a snapshot of activity to date, which will serve as a baseline from which the government should aim to improve.
We are keen to ensure that every department is aware of, and understands, the legal requirements of the BSL Act, both in letter and in spirit. And we are keen that, from one reporting period to the next, every department can show a steady and significant improvement in their use of BSL.
In order to support and encourage this improvement, we will commit to the following.
Reporting period: 28 June 2022 to 30 April 2023
1.BEIS return includes BSL returns for DSIT and DESNZ which were established in a ‘Machinery of Government’ change 2 months before the end of the first reporting period.] ↩
2.DIT return includes BSL return for DBT which was established in a ‘Machinery of Government’ change 2 months before the end of the first reporting period.] ↩
3.The Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work’s BSL activity on Disability Unit issues is captured within the Cabinet Office return.] ↩ ↩2
4.The Scottish and Welsh governments are not subject to the reporting duty and communications about matters that are devolved are outside the scope of this report.] ↩
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RBSLI maintains a public Register of qualified/trainee sign language interpreters and translators. All those listed on the Register have satisfied RBSLI entry criteria. All registrants adhere to the RBSLI Code of Ethics.
Oct 25, 2023 · BSL interpreters allow communication between deaf sign language users and hearing people. In Great Britain, this is usually between British Sign Language (BSL) and English, but in Northern Ireland, Irish Sign Language (ISL) is also used.
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