British Sign Language (Scotland) Act 2015 - recommendations: SG response
Sets out a range of government actions in response to recommendations made by the Equalities, Human Rights, and Civil Justice report into the BSL (Scotland) Act 2015, the BSL National Plan 2023-2029, and BSL Local Plans by listed authorities.
10. Access to work
10.1 Recommendation 21/paragraph 99
Whilst the Committee is mindful that the DWP’s Access to Work scheme is reserved, we understand the concerns raised by stakeholders and invite the Scottish Government to consider any additional assistance it may be able to provide to help ease the administrative burden for working BSL users accessing support under the scheme.
10.1.1 Decision
Partially accept
10.1.2 Scottish Government Response
Access to Work is a UK Government scheme, funded and facilitated by the Department for Work and Pensions. Despite Scottish Ministers' requests to devolve the service in Scotland, Access to Work remains reserved to the UK Government. Whilst the Scottish Government does not have direct control over the scheme, we are committed to using all available levers to support BSL users. This includes facilitating the Scottish Access to Work Stakeholder Forum to provide a platform for Scottish interests to be represented and discuss thematic questions directly with DWP. Deaf Action is an active member of the Forum, and at the most recent meeting they agreed to engage further with DWP offline to explore specific issues affecting BSL users.
The UK Government have recently consulted about changes to the future of Access to Work, and we hope the analysis of this consultation will be shared by the end of 2025. Any actions taken will be based on the results of this consultation, and the Scottish Government will continue to engage constructively with the DWP to ensure the needs of BSL users across Scotland are met.