British Sign Language Bill now officially an Act of Parliament
The British Deaf Association announced on Wednesday that the British Sign Language Bill passed its 3rd reading in the British Parliament. The BDA said, “We now have a BSL Act!!!” Check out this video clip.
[Video clip, Credit: Twitter/BDA_Deaf]
The BDA said today the bill has received Royal Assent, which makes it an Act of Parliament. That would be the equivalent of the U.S. President signing a bill passed by Congress to make it a federal law. But in England, it’s Queen Elizabeth II who makes it official.
The BDA said on Wednesday that “The Deaf community in Britain were celebrating this historic moment today, which comes after many years of campaigning for the recognition of their language and the right to access public services such as health and education in BSL.”
I reached out to Dani Sive, a deaf principal of a deaf elementary school in London, to give us a perspective on the potential impact of this act.
(Begin Interview)
Alex: The parliament recently passed the BSL Act — BSL Bill.
Dani Sive: Right.
Alex: Can you summarize and explain why deaf people in Britain needed this bill to be passed? Why is it important?
Dani: Okay. BSL has already been recognized as a language and is recognized the same as English, but there is no legal status. This means it’s not possible to sue or demand for there to be BSL access to different services. That hasn’t happened. We’ve only had recognition of BSL as a language, but that’s not enough. We need more from a legal standpoint. That means people can expect to have services to be provided with BSL access for deaf people who use BSL.
Alex: What kind of big impact do you expect to happen after this bill becomes an act?
Dani: Well, it’s hard to say now because there will be a BSL Council set up to discuss what needs to happen going forward to make it work. We don’t have a full list of details yet. We need to plan and discuss this. We have a rough idea of our priorities but the details will take some time. As for the impact, the main thing is that public services should provide BSL access for deaf people. Many deaf people are frustrated with having no access to interpreters. It is not enough. Or they are isolated and feel they’re not getting access to information. An example is the recent political events in the U.K. such as Brexit, the coronavirus, and others — the information from the government was not accessible for deaf people. Many of us have complained. So this will have a big impact. The same goes for hospitals as well. They must provide interpreters. This is important.
(End Interview).
Thank you Dani for that clear explanation.
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The BDA said the BSL Bill was first “brought forward by Labour MP Rosie Cooper, herself a child of Deaf parents” in June 2021.
The BDA said there are three main parts of the Act.
[Full-screen image / text:
The Act will: recognise British Sign Language as a language of England, Wales and Scotland*; require the Secretary of State to report on the promotion and facilitation of the use of British Sign Language by ministerial government departments; and require guidance to be issued in relation to British Sign Language, setting out how government departments and public bodies must meet the needs of the estimated 87,000** Deaf people in the UK for whom BSL is a first or preferred language.]
BDA Chair David Buxton said BSL is “Britain’s fourth indigenous language, after English, Welsh, and Scottish Gaelic.” He said the BSL Act is “the first step on a long path towards providing truly equal access to public services, information and opportunities for Deaf BSL users in Great Britain.”