Act of the Scottish Parliament | |
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Long title | An Act of the Scottish Parliament to promote the use of British Sign Language including by making provision for the preparation and publication of national plans in relation to British Sign Language and by requiring certain authorities to prepare and publish their own British Sign Language plans in connection with the exercise of their functions; and to provide for the manner in which such plans are to be prepared and for their review and updating. |
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Citation | 2015 asp 11 |
Introduced by | Mark Griffin |
Territorial extent | Scotland |
Dates | |
Royal assent | 22 October 2015 |
Status: Current legislation | |
Text of statute as originally enacted | |
Revised text of statute as amended |
The British Sign Language Act 2015 (asp 11) is an act of the Scottish Parliament, which legally recognises British Sign Language (BSL) as a language of Scotland. It also requires the Scottish ministers to develop a "National Plan", the first of which was published on 24 October 2017. [1]
The British Sign Language (Scotland) Bill was introduced to the Scottish Parliament as a private members' bill on 29 October 2014 by Mark Griffin. [2] The Bill gained cross-party and Government support before passing its second and third reading in the Scottish Parliament without any difficulties. [3] [4] [5] It received royal assent on 22 October 2015. [6]
The Act legally recognises British Sign Language as a language of Scotland, a similar status to Scottish Gaelic. [7] It requires the government and local councils to publish national plans on how the language is used in its public communications and issue guidance on promoting its usage.
British Sign Language (BSL) is a sign language used in the United Kingdom and is the first or preferred language among the deaf community in the UK. While private correspondence from William Stokoe hinted at a formal name for the language in 1960, the first usage of the term "British Sign Language" in an academic publication was likely by Aaron Cicourel. Based on the percentage of people who reported 'using British Sign Language at home' on the 2011 Scottish Census, the British Deaf Association estimates there are 151,000 BSL users in the UK, of whom 87,000 are Deaf. By contrast, in the 2011 England and Wales Census 15,000 people living in England and Wales reported themselves using BSL as their main language. People who are not deaf may also use BSL, as hearing relatives of deaf people, sign language interpreters or as a result of other contact with the British Deaf community. The language makes use of space and involves movement of the hands, body, face and head.
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