The Minister for Disabled People, Tom Pursglove MP, has admitted the government ‘can do more’ to promote British Sign Language (BSL), after its first BSL report found more than half of its departments did not produce any content in sign language in the past year.
The report, published by the Cabinet Office’s Disability Unit on Monday, is the first of its kind to be released by the government – as required by British Sign Language Act which became law in April last year.
The legislation, first introduced to Parliament by former West Lancashire MP and child of Deaf adults (CODA) Rosie Cooper, places a duty on the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions to produce regular reports on the work each government department has done to “promote or facilitate the use of British Sign Language in its communications with the public”.
These include policy announcements; the publication of any plan, strategy, consultation document or consultation response; social media posts; and press conferences.
11 out of the 20 departments listed said they did not produce any BSL translations for public policy announcements, publications, press conferences, social media or government webpages between 28 June 2022 and 30 April this year.
Despite disabled people being found to face extra costs amid the ongoing cost of living crisis, the Treasury did not produce a single piece of BSL content.
Other departments include the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and offices for both the Scottish and Welsh secretaries.
The document comes as the UK Government has continued to come under fire over its attitude to British Sign Language interpretation of its press conferences, after a campaign known as ‘Where Is The Interpreter’ drew attention to the lack of an in-person sign language interpreter at the daily coronavirus briefings from Downing Street at the start of the pandemic.
The government’s failure to provide an interpreter for two scientific briefings during the crisis led to the Cabinet Office being found in breach of the Equality Act – in a judicial review which cost the government more than £90,500 in legal fees.
In an interview with The Limping Chicken at an event in March, marking one year since the BSL Act was passed, Ms Cooper was asked if the government could be “embarrassed” into improving BSL access to its press conferences if its first BSL report evidenced a lack of action on this issue.
The ex-Labour MP replied: “In the spirit of partnership which has got us to this point here, I think we should all acknowledge it’s been a bit slow, but the minute that first report is out, that is the benchmark – we can go no lower and from here on in, we’re looking to Parliament, to the ministers to push this forward.
“But it’s not without transparency, because we’ll all be able to see what’s happened. So as I said, benchmark it and we are where we are. Benchmark it, but we’re watching.”
However, in a section under “good practice and case studies”, the Cabinet Office does not mention press conferences, instead noting its Disability Unit has produced “a number of public communications in BSL” and providing links to several tweets posted by the Unit in which BSL was available.
An annex to the report reveals 15 “press conferences, social media or government website use” to “publicise activities or policies” came with BSL interpretation, but it does not provide a detailed breakdown of how many of the these instances came from each communication format.
In sections covering other government departments, the Department for Work and Pensions confirmed it had set up a dedicated YouTube channel for BSL content, while the Ministry of Defence said it is developing plans to implement BSL at its press conferences and on social media and looks to introduce BSL guidance for the department by January.
Elsewhere, the Department of Health and Social Care admitted BSL versions of its call for evidence on the development of guidance on the Down Syndrome Act were delayed, and that “lessons were learned in the production of the BSL videos which will be shared across DHSC to reduce delays for future publications”.
With the end of the first reporting period given as 30 April 2023, and the law requiring the Work and Pensions Secretary to “publish each [BSL] report no more than three months after the end of the reporting period to which it relates”, the deadline for Mel Stride MP to share the first report is Monday.
In a video announcing the report’s publication, Minister for Disabled People Tom Pursglove MP said: “I’m pleased it highlights pockets of good practice, but we can do better.
“I will be discussing the report with ministers in each department and asking them to produce five year plans to improve their use of BSL.
“Together, we can make the UK a more inclusive and accessible society.”
In the report’s summary, the Disability Unit also goes on to make four commitments to improve BSL across government, including publishing a report every year over the next five years (as opposed to once every three years as stated in the Act); each department producing a five-year “BSL Plan”; and issuing internal guidance to civil servants.
The publication of the report comes just over a week into the Commons’ summer recess, meaning MPs will return to Parliament on 4 September, before rising again for this year’s party conferences two weeks later.
Labour’s shadow minister for disabled people, Vicky Foxcroft MP, has been approached for comment, along with the British Deaf Association.
The full report – as well as a BSL version – is available on the GOV.UK website.
Images: @DisabilityGovUK/Twitter.
Liam O'Dell 