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SUMMARY OF WRITTEN SUBMISSION [br]FROM BRITISH DEAF ASSOCIATION

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(NORTHERN IRELAND) –[br]Sign Language Bill

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The Northern Ireland Assembly is [br]debating the Sign Language Bill.

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To help them do this, its Communities[br]Committee asked for feedback from any

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person or group – either via video [br]on WhatsApp or in writing.

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The BDA (NI) submitted a written [br]response and this is a summary of

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what that included.

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BDA fully agrees with the proposed new [br]law with one exception (more on that later).

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However, we are calling for the Bill to [br]go even further and will give more details below.

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1)	Do you feel Clause 1 goes far enough [br]in formally recognising BSL and ISL as

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languages of Northern Ireland?

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BDA believes yes Clause 1 of the Bill is [br]strong enough. The Bill will give Sign Language

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the same rights as other spoken languages [br]such as Irish and Ulster Scots while not

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affecting or impacting other important [br]laws that might apply to an individual -

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such as the Disability Discrimination Act [br]or Human Rights Acts.

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The Act will also bring NI in line with [br]other parts of the UK where Sign Language

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is already given equal status.

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2)	Do you feel Clause 2 goes far enough[br]in promoting the use of BSL and ISL and

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developing deaf culture?

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BDA welcomes the approach of viewing [br]signing not as a disability issue but a

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linguistic minority matter. [br]However, we notice that decisions

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are often made in relation to deaf services [br]or sign language services without meaningful

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deaf input. We want to see a more [br]robust way of including Deaf signers in

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the process of planning, delivering and [br]evaluating. We want to see a commitment

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to invest in developing [br]Deaf leadership in these areas.

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We also welcome the proposal that [br]sign language classes for families with

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Deaf children will become [br]a statutory provision.

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BDA advised on the need for Deaf signers [br]to be able to use technological advances,

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in the same way VRS became crucial [br]during the Covid pandemic and increased

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use of BSL/ISL in the media and schools. [br]We also repeated the important of

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Deaf signers being involved and leading [br]at all stages of the introduction of these

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new ways of working.

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We also said the Department for [br]Communities should support members

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of the deaf community to develop their [br]skills and capacities towards taking

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leadership roles in designing and [br]delivering policies to implement

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access to sign language.