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SUMMARY OF WRITTEN SUBMISSION
FROM BRITISH DEAF ASSOCIATION
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(NORTHERN IRELAND) –
Sign Language Bill
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The Northern Ireland Assembly is
debating the Sign Language Bill.
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To help them do this, its Communities
Committee asked for feedback from any
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person or group – either via video
on WhatsApp or in writing.
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The BDA (NI) submitted a written
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
law with one exception (more on that later).
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However, we are calling for the Bill to
go even further and will give more details below.
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1) Do you feel Clause 1 goes far enough
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
strong enough. The Bill will give Sign Language
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the same rights as other spoken languages
such as Irish and Ulster Scots while not
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affecting or impacting other important
laws that might apply to an individual -
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such as the Disability Discrimination Act
or Human Rights Acts.
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The Act will also bring NI in line with
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
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
signing not as a disability issue but a
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linguistic minority matter.
However, we notice that decisions
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are often made in relation to deaf services
or sign language services without meaningful
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deaf input. We want to see a more
robust way of including Deaf signers in
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the process of planning, delivering and
evaluating. We want to see a commitment
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to invest in developing
Deaf leadership in these areas.
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We also welcome the proposal that
sign language classes for families with
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Deaf children will become
a statutory provision.
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BDA advised on the need for Deaf signers
to be able to use technological advances,
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in the same way VRS became crucial
during the Covid pandemic and increased
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use of BSL/ISL in the media and schools.
We also repeated the important of
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Deaf signers being involved and leading
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
Communities should support members
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of the deaf community to develop their
skills and capacities towards taking
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leadership roles in designing and
delivering policies to implement
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access to sign language.
