Act of Parliament | |
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Long title | An Act to recognise British Sign Language as a language of England, Wales and Scotland; to require the Secretary of State to report on the promotion and facilitation of the use of British Sign Language by ministerial government departments; and to require guidance to be issued in relation to British Sign Language. |
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Citation | 2022 c. 34 |
Introduced by | Rosie Cooper (Commons) Lord Holmes of Richmond (Lords) |
Territorial extent | Great Britain |
Dates | |
Royal assent | 28 April 2022 |
Status: Current legislation | |
Text of statute as originally enacted | |
Revised text of statute as amended |
The British Sign Language Act 2022 (c. 34) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which legally recognises British Sign Language (BSL) as a language of England, Scotland and Wales. It also requires the Secretary of State to publish reports each reporting period on how BSL is promoted or facilitated by certain government department. The first of these reports was published on 31 July 2023. [1]
The British Sign Language Bill was introduced to the House of Commons as a private members' bill on 16 June 2021 by Rosie Cooper. [2] The Bill gained cross-party and Government support before passing its second and third reading in the House of Commons and Lords without any difficulties. [3] [4] [5] It received royal assent on 28 April 2022. [6]
The Act legally recognises British Sign Language as a language of England, Scotland and Wales, a similar status to Welsh and Scottish Gaelic. [7] It requires the government to publish reports on how the language is used in its public communications and issue guidance on promoting its usage. It is somewhat modelled in motives on the British Sign Language (Scotland) Act 2015 which places similar requirements on ministers in the Scottish Government. [3]
In order to ensure its obligations under this law, the Government continues to work with other organizations that participate in the campaign. A BSL Advisory Board has been established here, in which representatives of the deaf community advise public services. [8] [9] Thanks to this law, the number of registered interpreters has increased. At the same time, access to job provision for applicants and employers has improved. [10]
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.
English, in various dialects, is the most widely spoken language of the United Kingdom, but a number of regional and migrant languages are also spoken. Regional languages are Scots and Ulster Scots and the Celtic languages, Irish, Scottish Gaelic, Welsh and, as a revived language with few speakers, Cornish. British Sign Language is also used. There are also many languages spoken by immigrants who arrived recently to the United Kingdom, mainly within inner city areas; these languages are mainly from continental Europe and South Asia.
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Dorothy "Dot" Miles was a Welsh poet and activist in the Deaf community. Throughout her life, she composed her poems in English, British Sign Language, and American Sign Language. Her work laid the foundations for modern sign language poetry in the United States and the United Kingdom. She is regarded as the pioneer of BSL poetry and her work influenced many contemporary deaf poets.
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The legal recognition of signed languages differs widely. In some jurisdictions, a signed language is recognised as an official language; in others, it has a protected status in certain areas. Although a government may stipulate in its constitution that a "signed language" is recognised, it may fail to specify which signed language; several different signed languages may be commonly used.
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The languages of Wales include the Welsh language, which is an official language of Wales, and English, which is also considered an official language in Wales. The official languages of the Senedd are also Welsh and English. According to the 2021 census, the Welsh-speaking population of Wales aged three or older was 17.8% and nearly three quarters of the population in Wales said they had no Welsh language skills.
Telephone interpreting connects human interpreters via telephone to individuals who wish to speak to each other but do not share a common language. The telephone interpreter converts the spoken language from one language to another, enabling listeners and speakers to understand each other. Interpretation over the telephone most often takes place in consecutive mode, which means that the interpreter waits until the speaker finishes an utterance before rendering the interpretation into the other language. As the use of the telephonic modality is increasing it is allowing users to access an interpreter immediately, regardless of time and location.
Signature is a United Kingdom national charity and awarding body for deaf communication qualifications. Signature attempts to improve communication between deaf, deafblind and hearing people, whilst creating better communities.
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Audrey Cameron is a Chancellor's Fellow working at the University of Edinburgh. She is Deaf and uses British Sign Language.
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