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.
12. Emergency responses
12.1 Recommendation 25/paragraph 112
The Committee therefore agrees with Professor Napier that consideration should be given to how emergency services should be alerted to the fact that a person is Deaf before attending an emergency call to enable interpretation to be provided, even if initially online. It also recommends that front-line responders are given adequate training in Deaf awareness and communication requirements.
12.1.1 Decision
Accept
12.1.2 Scottish Government Response
The Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) are currently working with BDA Scotland to look at what facilities they currently have in place for BSL patients and service users and how they can improve and develop in this area
With their partners at Police Scotland and Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, SAS have linked with Tap SOS, an organisation that has developed an App for use in emergencies, which will be helpful for members of the public who are D/deaf, hard of hearing or have difficulty with speech.
12.2 Recommendation 26/paragraph 113
However, the Committee is less understanding of situations where interpreters have not been organised to enable Deaf complainers to provide statements to the police and invites the Scottish Government to consider what further guidance could be provided to Police Scotland to prevent such scenarios from being repeated.
12.2.1 Decision
Partially accept
12.2.2 Scottish Government Response
The deployment of BSL interpreters and frontline procedures are matters for Police Scotland, which operates independently under the Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012. The Scottish Government cannot direct operational decisions, including how and when interpreters are used. The Chief Constable is held to account by the Scottish Police Authority (SPA). Police Scotland has established protocols for arranging interpretation services, including the use of Contact Scotland BSL and 999BSL, which allow Deaf individuals to contact emergency services via video relay.
Police Scotland has developed Deaf awareness training and collaborated with academic partners to improve communication tools, such as a BSL version of the police caution. Despite these measures, concerns remain about delays in interpreter provision, particularly when Deaf individuals are giving statements or reporting crimes. The Scottish Government acknowledges these concerns and will work with the SPA and Police Scotland to highlight any concerns and explore how the current response could be strengthened to promote consistency and accessibility.
Police Scotland’s Policing Together Equality and Diversity Unit has been working to improve the provision of BSL interpreters in planned and unplanned police contact. This work includes working with BSL interpreting agencies to provide police specific training, working to implement a VRI (video remote interpreting) app that would give officers instant access to a video interpreter on their devices for all unplanned contact and suitable planned contact, and supporting numerous research projects on identifying service improvements for BSL communities.