Hansard

I speak in today’s debate as a member of the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee. I thank the clerks for their assistance in the production of the report and all those who submitted their views on the subject. I welcome our guests in the public gallery.

Ten years on from the British Sign Language (Scotland) Act 2015, the committee decided to hold a short inquiry to consider the actions that have been taken by the Scottish Government and the public authorities that are listed in the act to tackle the barriers that BSL users face. We focused on two things in particular: first, whether the act, the current BSL plan and listed authority plans are improving the lives of BSL users; and, secondly, what changes could be made in the short and long terms to improve the lives of BSL users.

The 2015 act was a landmark piece of legislation for this country. By enshrining British Sign Language in primary legislation, it acknowledged deaf citizens as a distinct language community. The committee welcomed the positive feedback that was received on the impact that the act has had in improving the daily lives of BSL users. I am pleased that it was noted that it has helped to increase the language’s visibility and to empower deaf BSL users to access services and participate in society using their preferred language.

However, there are some challenges, and a number of key themes emerged during the evidence sessions. For the sake of time, I will touch on only two of those.

Justice was a key policy area to arise in the discussions, particularly for deaf people with experience of domestic abuse. As we approach the end of the 16 days of activism against gender-based violence, it is important to touch on that part of the report in particular. I express my sincere thanks to Lucy, a deaf domestic abuse survivor, who provided important testimony on the barriers that BSL users can face when engaging with the police and courts.

Progress was noted under the access to justice actions in the national plan, but, in her evidence, Professor Napier, chair of intercultural communication and associate principal of research culture at Heriot-Watt University, said that several issues that would improve access for BSL users in the legal system had not been addressed. Professor Napier noted that research in the USA estimated that deaf women are two to three times more likely to experience domestic abuse than hearing women. The cause of that is

“potential perpetrators using their hearing status as part of the power dynamic”.—[Official Report, Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee, 3 June 2025; c 58.]

The committee agrees with our witnesses that deaf women in particular should have better access to education and information about their rights and the law and that deaf-specific service providers would help to achieve that. Therefore, the committee invited the Scottish Government to consider what further steps could be taken in that regard. I welcome the fact that, in her response, the Deputy First Minister noted that the Scottish Government continues

“to engage with Deaf Links and the Sign Loud team at Heriot Watt University and University of Edinburgh, a project focused on experiences of domestic abuse and communication barriers, to consider deliverables that will make a difference to Deaf women within the new Equally Safe Delivery Plan.”

The committee agrees that consideration should be given to how emergency services should be alerted to the fact that a person is deaf before attending an emergency call to enable interpretation to be provided, even if that is initially done online. I welcome the fact that the Deputy First Minister’s response notes:

“The Scottish Ambulance Service ... are currently working with BDA Scotland to look at what facilities they currently have in place for BSL patients and service users and how they can improve and develop in this area”.

On healthcare, particularly mental health services, some further concerns were raised that warranted further discussion. For example, the committee invited the Scottish Government to respond to concerns that were raised by BDA Scotland and the Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland—the ALLIANCE—about the need for a robust approach to ensuring that older deaf BSL users have access to appropriate services and care packages. It also invited a response on the ALLIANCE’s comments about the likelihood of the number of deafblind people increasing and its calls for an increase in the number of social workers for the deaf.

I welcome the fact that the Scottish Government published an equalities impact assessment alongside the mental health and wellbeing workforce action plan to help to identify and form actions that are needed to address inequalities in the mental health and wellbeing workforce. That specifically included action on promoting BSL resources.

I am pleased that the Scottish Government’s “British Sign Language (BSL): national plan 2023 to 2029” represents its continuing commitment to making Scotland the best place in the world for BSL users to live, work, visit and learn. I am also pleased that, overall, the Scottish Government has accepted in full the vast majority of our recommendations. It is clear that the BSL community should be at the heart of our decision-making process to ensure that we get things right. It is vital that we work together with the community to tackle the barriers, improve their lives and deliver the 2015 act’s objectives.