Jul. 31 2023
Source Page: The British Sign Language (BSL) report 2022Found: The British Sign Language (BSL) report 2022
Jul. 31 2023
Source Page: The British Sign Language (BSL) report 2022Found: The British Sign Language (BSL) report 2022
Asked by: Peter Aldous (Conservative - Waveney)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of education health and care plans included funding for courses in British Sign Language in each of the last five years.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department does not hold the data requested.
The department collects data from local authorities on the number of children and young people with an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan, but this does not include information on any specific education courses that are included in EHC plans.
Asked by: Peter Aldous (Conservative - Waveney)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to help improve pre-school communication for deaf children (a) in early years settings and (b) between family members.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department wants every child to receive a high standard of early education and we are committed to supporting children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), including in early years.
The early years foundation stage statutory framework states that all providers must have arrangements in place to support children with SEND, including deaf children. Maintained schools, maintained nursery schools and all providers who are funded by the local authority to deliver early education places must have regard to the SEND code of practice.
The government is also investing approximately £300 million to enable 75 local authorities to create family hubs, and to improve vital services to give every baby the best start in life, including those with SEND. Staff in family hubs should be knowledgeable about SEND services and be able to connect families to appropriate support and services. SEND information advice and support may be physically located within the hub buildings, and should be in an accessible format, addressing wider accessibility needs. Staff can make referrals to appropriate services within the hub network and make families aware of education, health and care request procedure.
Family hubs provide services for children of all ages (0-19 or 0-25 for families with children who have SEND), with a great start for life offer at their core. Family hubs are a way of joining up locally to improve access to services, the connections between families, professionals, services, and providers, and prioritise strengthening the relationships. On 10 January 2024, the government announced that every one of the 75 local authorities in the family hubs and start for life programme have now opened family hubs, creating a welcoming place where families with children aged 0-19, or 25 with SEND, can be connected to a wide range of services for families.
It is important that the government leads by example. The duties in the British sign language (BSL) Act encourage government departments to improve how they communicate with and meet the needs of the deaf community. The department is keen to ensure that every department is aware of, and understands, the legal requirements of the BSL Act. The department is also keen that, from one reporting period to the next, every department can show a steady and significant improvement in their use of BSL.
Asked by: Derek Thomas (Conservative - St Ives)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment his Department's Disability Unit has made of the (a) adequacy of availability of and (b) strength of demand for courses in British Sign Language.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The Disability Unit does not keep statistics on the adequacy of availability, or strength of demand, for courses in British Sign Language, as this would be a matter for the Department for Education.
A British Sign Language (BSL) Advisory Board has been established to help advise the Government on the implementation of the British Sign Language Act 2022. This Act legally recognises BSL as a language of England, Wales and Scotland. It requires government departments to report on how they are ensuring accessibility of their communications through the use of BSL. The BSL Advisory Board is a new expert committee which will advise the Government on the implementation of the BSL Act and other matters important to BSL signers. Amongst other things, the Board will advise on how to increase the numbers of qualified and registered BSL interpreters.
Asked by: Derek Thomas (Conservative - St Ives)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many Advanced Learner Loans were granted for courses in British Sign Language in each of the last five years.
Answered by Robert Halfon
The number of Advance Learner Loans for courses in British Sign Language per enrolment and academic year since the 2017/18 academic year are included in the table attached. These counts have been rounded to the nearest five and do not include loans for courses in Irish Sign Language.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions,what funding his Department provided to the British Sign Language Advisory Board in the last 12 months.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The Cabinet Office funds interpreters, palantypists, travel and accommodation for members attending the BSL Advisory Board.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to communicate the work of the British Sign Language Advisory Board with the deaf community.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
Summaries of meetings of the BSL Advisory Board are available on GOV.UK. These summaries are available both in BSL and in written English.
Closed Consultation: British Sign Language National Plan 2023 - 2029 Consultation
Opened: Friday 7th July 2023Found: British Sign Language National Plan 2023 - 2029 Consultation
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many Education Health and Care Plans include (a) courses and (b) other forms of training in British Sign Language for (i) children and (ii) family members.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department does not hold the data requested.
The department collects data from local authorities on the number of children and young people with an Education, Health and Care Plan, but this does not include information on the contents of the plan.