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.
3. Second British Sign Language National Plan
3.1 Recommendation 1/paragraph 35
In contrast to much of the feedback received on the first National Plan, the Committee is disappointed to hear of the negative experience of some who contributed to the second Plan. The Committee recognises the challenges created by finite resources and understands that it would not be possible to include every suggestion made in the final Plan. However, it appears to the Committee that greater clarity could have been provided to stakeholders on what they could expect from the development process with a view to helping mitigate the sense of disappointment among many stakeholders that their suggestions had not been included in the final draft. The Committee regrets that the sense of positivity engendered in many stakeholders through collaborative working on the first Plan appears not to have been fully built upon and enhanced during the production of its successor.
3.1.1 Decision
Partially accept
3.1.2 Scottish Government Response
The BSL National Plan 2023-2029 is not a static document but is designed to be responsive to the daily barriers facing BSL users over its six-year lifecycle. BSL users were consulted with as part of the development of the second plan, with a steering group involving representative organisations of the Deaf and Deafblind communities contributing to the actions. We have committed to ongoing engagement and established the Implementation Advisory Group (IAG) of the National Plan to help inform its delivery. We commit to ongoing engagement with BSL users to reflect their lived experience as our actions progress. There are several actions requiring collaborative working, including in areas such as education, health and justice. We commit to working with the key stakeholders, including BSL users, to make the cross-cutting connections required to progress BSL equality in Scotland.
3.2 Recommendation 2/paragraph 36
The Committee welcomes confirmation that the Scottish Government will give further consideration to whether a replacement National Advisory Group or similar central oversight body, including representatives of BSL users, should be established.
We invite the Scottish Government to provide an update on the outcome of this further consideration when available.
3.2.1 Decision
Accept
3.2.2 Scottish Government Response
Within the BSL National Plan 2023-29, we commit to working with listed authorities and the BSL users to establish best practice, share knowledge and improve the development and implementation of actions within national and local BSL plans.
We will do this by:
- Funding the Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland (the alliance) to create a support network for listed authorities mentioned in the BSL (Scotland Act) 2015 to enable opportunities to share good practice, resources and raise challenges around implementing local BSL plans. The network will encourage partnership working, improve data collection, foster connectivity and enable greater accountability on progress towards implementation of local plans.
- Funding British Deaf Association (BDA) Scotland through the Equality and Human Rights Fund to continue their work with listed authorities, fostering community connections and sharing information on how best to engage with BSL users.
3.3 Recommendation 3/paragraph 37
The Committee also agrees with comments made by stakeholders including the
3.3.1 Decision
Accept
3.3.2 Scottish Government Response
The BSL National Plan 2023-29 commits to strengthening data on the BSL community in Scotland to better inform decision making in public policy and service design. We will continue to progress the actions as set out in the plan given the alignment with the committee recommendation and commit to meeting with the alliance and Professor Kusters to discuss their ideas further as we take forward the data actions within the plan.
3.4 Recommendation 4/paragraph 38
The Committee is also sympathetic to suggestions from Deafblind stakeholders that they can feel “drowned out” and for tactile BSL to be routinely included on an equal footing to BSL. We therefore invite the Scottish Government to consider what more should be done to ensure parity of esteem for both forms of BSL.
3.4.1 Recommendation 4/paragraph 38
Accept
3.4.2 Scottish Government Response
The BSL National Plan 2023-29 is clear that when referring to BSL users, this covers people whose first or preferred language is BSL, including those who receive the language in a tactile form due to sight loss.
There are a number of actions regarding Deafblind BSL users in the BSL National Plan 2023-2029, including supporting Deaf and Deafblind children, young people and their families, to learn about the heritage and culture of BSL in Scotland, supporting NHS teams and BSL providers to develop robust referral pathways for Deaf and Deafblind children, and developing opportunities for Deaf and Deafblind young people to learn about transitioning into and navigating the workplace.
Deafblind Scotland are a key partner on the BSL National Plan Implementation Advisory Group and provide the expertise and lived experience of their members in the Deafblind community to ensure that equal consideration is given throughout the plan to tactile BSL users and to Deafblind people.
The Scottish Government funds Deafblind Scotland via the Equality and Human Rights Fund to deliver human rights training to Deafblind community members through their Right to Dream project, in partnership with Visibility Scotland.
In June the Scottish Government announced its intent to take forward work to adopt the Nordic definition of Deafblindness as a functional model in Scotland.
The Government recognises the distinct challenges faced by the Deafblind community, and we want to ensure that Deafblind people in Scotland receive the recognition they need and are able to access the best possible care and support. Announcing our intention to adopt the Nordic definition is an important first step. Over the coming months we will be working through the detail of putting this into practice, working closely with the Cross-Party Groups on Deafness and Visual Impairment and key partners such as Deafblind Scotland