Alex Gowlland, deputy director of the Cabinet Office’s Disability Unit, has said the UK Government “strongly rejects” findings from the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, to which Gowlland gave evidence in Geneva in March.
The UN committee published a report this week in which it concluded the UK Government has made “no significant progress” in improving the rights of disabled people since its 2016 inquiry, which found it had made “grave and systemic violations” in this area.
It also went as far as to say there were “signs of regression” in the “standards and principles of the convention” in the UK, stating the government has “failed to take all appropriate measures to address grave and systemic violations” of disabled people’s rights and to “eliminate the root causes of inequality and discrimination”.
“This failure exists particularly with respect to the state party’s obligation to guarantee the right of persons with disabilities to live independently and be included in the community, to work and employment, and to an adequate standard of living and social protection in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland,” it wrote.
In addition to reiterating its 2017 recommendations to the UK Government, the UN committee called on ministers to “take all legislative, policy and administrative measures to prevent, review and respond to” instances of “benefit deaths”; amend UK hate crime laws to better protect disabled people; and “take comprehensive measures to ensure that persons with disabilities are adequately supported through social security payments, benefits and allowances”, with “thorough assessments” carried out based on “the human rights model of disability”.
However, during a panel discussion at the British Deaf Association’s (BDA) conference in Manchester on Friday, Gowlland commented on the committee’s findings and what the BSL Advisory Board is doing to advance the rights of disabled people in respect of this outcome, which Gowlland says the government “strongly rejects”.
The senior civil servant, who alongside Action Deafness CEO Craig Crowley co-chairs the advisory board, responded to Liam O’Dell’s question by saying: “[The government] believes [… it] has made a real commitment to improving the services and the outcomes for deaf and disabled people in recent years through a variety of means, including the Disability Action Plan, which we published in February, which complements the long term vision set out in the National Disability Strategy.
“In terms of the Board, as we’ve said, it’s something which the government is really strongly committed to and really wants to help work closely with the board members and with the broader community to make sure that their needs of Deaf and deaf people and BSL users are fed up to the heart of government so that we can take action on the various issues that affect them.”
Just last month, Gowlland appeared in front of the UN committee in Geneva to give evidence on behalf of the UK Government, during which she said “ensuring the voice of disabled people is properly heard is something which is very important to us in the UK government”.
Under Article 4 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), overseen by the committee, nations are expected to “closely consult with and actively involve” disabled people in decision-making processes which concern them, through representative organisations.
However, the BDA said on Friday that while the UK Government has previously told the UN it will take certain steps to support deaf and disabled people, “we’re not seeing that in practice”.
Dr Robert Adam, the charity’s chair, told attendees at the conference: “The government need to be consulting with us – the BDA – and the Deaf community over what is best and right for Deaf people.”
The UNCPRD has been ratified by the UK Government, which agreed to follow the convention in 2009, but the document is yet to be implemented in UK law.
While Gowlland shared the UK Goverment’s stance on the committee’s report. which rubbished its findings, Crowley commented: “Of course, where we would have concerns is if any legislation was passed that wasn’t compatible with the convention.
“It’s something that we as an advisory board need to be aware of moving forward.
“Of course, we are focused as an Advisory Board specifically on the BSL Act, but that’s not to say that we don’t have our eye across the wider [legislative context]. We certainly are not going to be in a position where we turn a blind eye to anything like that.
“However, we do have to work within the mechanisms of government and we do have to work as a conduit of you, the wider community, so remembering that is key.”
The non-statutory BSL Advisory Board was established following the passing of the BSL Act in 2022, which granted legal recognition to the language in England, Scotland and Wales, and places duties on the UK Government to publish reports and guidance on the “promotion and facilitation” of sign language.
Gowlland and Crowley were giving a talk about their Board’s progress as part of the BDA’s event focussing on support for deaf children in the early years, including its recently launched BSL In Our Hands campaign.
The UK Government has now been asked to file a report by March 2029 on the work it has done to implement recommendations from the UN made in 2017 and in March this year.
Liam O'Dell 