Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to ensure consultations on disability benefits reforms are accessible for disabled people.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government) (Equalities)
This Government values the input of disabled people and people with health conditions in addition to the representative organisations and people that support them.
That is why we brought forward a Green Paper and opened a public consultation – which received over 47,500 responses before closing on 30 June 2025. The consultation was published in a range of accessible versions including braille, audio, British Sign Language (BSL), Welsh language, Easy Read, large print and web-accessible formats. In addition to the public consultation, we ran a programme of accessible public events to further facilitate input. The series of both virtual and in-person events across the country helped us to hear from disabled people and representative organisations directly.
Our conversations with disabled people and people with health conditions, as well as experts, shaped and informed the Green Paper. We are committed to continuing this dialogue and drawing on a wide range of insights and experiences to get these reforms right. We published our summary to the Pathways to Work Green Paper consultation responses on 30 October 2025. We are considering feedback on these proposals as we develop them further.
The Timms Review is being co-produced by disabled people, the organisations that represent them and other experts. The steering group is committed to ensuring the Review is informed by a broad range of voices and experiences, and to making engagement accessible. The steering group agreed to use a mix of approaches combining lived experience, expert insight, existing research, new quantitative data and workshops across the UK to gather evidence.
The Review has run a Call for Evidence and ‘Workshop in a Box’ sessions to gather input from individuals and organisations with a full suite of accessible versions, including British Sign Language, Braille, Easy Read, Large Print, Audio, and Welsh versions. The Call for Evidence received over 38,000 responses. A summary of these findings was published alongside the Interim Report on 9 July. The Review will report to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions for final decisions by autumn 2026.
Asked by: Luke Charters (Labour - York Outer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what support is available to hearing parents of deaf children to learn British Sign Language.
Answered by Andrew Western - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The government understands the great importance of British Sign Language (BSL) for bridging barriers to communication between hearing and deaf people and appreciates the vital need for families with deaf children to be able to access BSL courses, as early access to language is essential to help children learn and thrive.
Funding is available through DWP’s Adult Skills Fund (ASF) for qualifications in or focussing on BSL, up to and including level 2. The ASF fully funds or co-funds skills provision for eligible adults aged 19 and above from pre-entry to level 3, to help them gain the skills they need for work, an apprenticeship or further learning. 68% of the ASF has been devolved to 13 Strategic Authorities, who determine which provision to fund for learners who live in their areas. The DWP provides the remaining funding for learners who live in non-devolved areas.
The DWP funded BSL qualifications include, for example, the Level 1 Award in BSL which allows learners to communicate in BSL on a range of topics that involve simple, everyday language use, thereby giving them the basic skills and confidence in production and reception of BSL. It will depend on an individual’s circumstances as to whether they are entitled to free provision or expected to meet part of the cost through co-funding. Where tailored learning providers offer BSL courses, those providers are responsible for determining the course fees, including levels of fee remission. For qualifications at Level 3 and above Advanced Learner Loans are available for certain BSL qualifications.
Asked by: Alison Bennett (Liberal Democrat - Mid Sussex)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure the provision of British Sign Language interpreters within emergency services.
Answered by Preet Kaur Gill
Integrated care boards are responsible for commissioning services to meet the health needs of their local population, which includes responsibility for ensuring that there is adequate provision of British Sign Language (BSL) interpreters to support deaf patients.
To facilitate clear and effective communication in emergency situations, individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing, or speech impaired can utilise tools such as the 999BSL video relay platform, both app and web-based, to contact 999 via a BSL interpreter as well as access via emergency SMS messaging.
Video relay apps can also be used to support communication and face-to-face assessment by crews on scene at incidents, where, via on-board iPads, paramedics can connect patients with a remote BSL video interpreter. These resources, which are free to use and operate 24 hours, seven days a week, ensure that real-time communication is possible for BSL users when emergency and urgent assistance is required.
The BSL Advisory Board was established in 2023, to advise the Government on key issues impacting the Deaf community in their everyday life. On 27 November 2025, the BSL Advisory Board published a report titled Locked out: Exclusion of deaf and deafblind BSL users from health and social care in the UK, which is available at the following link:
The Government welcomed the report, and thanked the BSL Advisory Board for their work to improve the accessibility, inclusion, and the experiences of Deaf and Deafblind BSL users within the health and social care system. The board’s recommendations are informing work to implement the 10-Year Health Plan and to reform adult social care so we can deliver improvements to the health, care, and the experience of Deaf people.
Asked by: Mark Sewards (Labour - Leeds South West and Morley)
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 ensure that information on Pension Credit claims, mandatory reconsiderations and backdated payments is accessible to people who are classed as being digitally excluded.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is committed to ensuring that Pension Credit services remain accessible to people who are digitally excluded.
Pension Credit claims can be made online, by freephone telephone, or by completing a paper application form. For customers who are unable to complete forms themselves, a home visit from a Visiting Officer can be arranged, and additional support is also available from DWP staff and third-party organisations. Information about Pension Credit claims and related services is also available through DWP correspondence and telephone contact with the Pension Service, helping to ensure that customers who are unable to access online information can still obtain guidance and assistance.
Customers who disagree with a Pension Credit decision can ask for a Mandatory Reconsideration, information about this is included in the clerical award notice issued to all customers, via GOV.UK, and by telephone. Customers who are unable to access online information can contact the Pension Service directly for additional support and guidance.
Information about Pension Credit backdating is available through claim channels, and customers can discuss their individual circumstances with the Pension Service by telephone or in writing. Claims may be backdated in accordance with the relevant legislation.
The department provides a range of accessibility support for customers, including Relay UK, British Sign Language Video Relay Services (known as VRS) and Easy Read. Information about the support available is published on GOV.UK and is also included in correspondence issued by the department to customers. DWP staff are trained to identify customers who may require additional support and to help them access services through the most appropriate channel.
The department continues to modernise Pension Credit services while maintaining telephone, paper and assisted support routes to ensure that customers who are digitally excluded can continue to access information and support.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 26 June to Question 11236 on Department for Education: Translation Services, for what reason the spend increased in 2025/26.
Answered by Olivia Bailey
The department’s spending on translation services in the 2025/26 financial year increased by £20,573.80 compared with the 2024/25 financial year. As outlined in the department’s response to Question 11236, the increase in expenditure predominantly relates to:
There were no comparable, high-value translation activities undertaken by the department in 2024/25, where translation costs were £1,159.02 and related to:
Asked by: Sarah Dyke (Liberal Democrat - Glastonbury and Somerton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of British Sign Language interpretation provision for deaf patients during emergency medical treatment, including for those who rely on cochlear implants and may be unable to communicate verbally in an emergency.
Answered by Preet Kaur Gill
Integrated care boards are responsible for commissioning services to meet the health needs of their local population, which includes responsibility for ensuring that there is adequate provision of British Sign Language (BSL) interpreters to support deaf patients.
To facilitate clear and effective communication in emergency situations, individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing, or speech impaired can utilise tools such as the 999BSL video relay platform, which is both app and web-based, to contact 999 via a BSL interpreter as well as access via emergency SMS messaging.
Video relay apps can also be used to support communication and face-to-face assessment by crews on scene at incidents, where, via on-board iPads, paramedics can connect patients with a remote BSL video interpreter. These resources, which are free to use and operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, ensure that real-time communication is possible for BSL users when emergency and urgent assistance is required.
The BSL Advisory Board was established in 2023, to advise the Government on key issues impacting the Deaf community in their everyday life. On 27 November 2025, the BSL Advisory Board published a report titled Locked out: Exclusion of deaf and deafblind BSL users from health and social care in the UK, which is available at the following link:
The Government welcomed the report, and thanked the BSL Advisory Board for their work to improve the accessibility, inclusion, and the experiences of Deaf and Deafblind BSL users within the health and social care system. The board’s recommendations are informing work to implement the 10-Year Health Plan and reform adult social care so we can deliver improvements to the health, care, and experience of Deaf people.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much her Department spent on translation services in each of the last five financial years.
Answered by Olivia Bailey
The amounts that the department spent on translation services in the years between 1 April 2022 and 18 June 2026 are as follows:
Financial Year | Spend on Translation Services |
2022/23 | £7,933.47 |
2023/24 | £2,023.20 |
2024/25 | £1,159.02 |
2025/26 | £21,732.82 |
2026/27 (to 18 June 2026) | £3,766.93 |
Total Spend | £36,615.44 |
The much higher spend in year 2025/26 was driven principally by three specific items of translation spend:
(i) Safeguarding guidance aimed at parents relating to children in out-of-school settings.
(ii) Consultation documents affecting disabled students into British Sign Language.
(iii) UK hosted summit on artificial intelligence safety in education, requiring translation services for overseas delegates.
Asked by: Rebecca Smith (Conservative - South West Devon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress LNER has made on replacing passenger information screens at York and Newcastle stations since 17 December 2025; and what steps she is taking to enhance passenger information across LNER-managed stations.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
London North Eastern Railway (LNER) has completed the roll out of the very latest colour customer information screens, that also feature British Sign Language, on the main departure boards at York and Newcastle stations. LNER will replace customer information screens on platforms throughout these stations over the next two years. In addition, new ticket vending machines will transform how information is delivered, featuring dual-screen technology for an improved customer experience. This remains on track to be delivered by Spring 2027.
Asked by: Jerome Mayhew (Conservative - Broadland and Fakenham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress LNER has made on replacing passenger information screens at York and Newcastle stations since 17 December 2025; and what steps she is taking to enhance passenger information across LNER-managed stations.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
London Northeastern Railway (LNER) has completed the roll out of the very latest colour customer information screens, that also feature British Sign Language, on the main departure boards at York and Newcastle stations. LNER will replace customer information screens on platforms throughout these stations over the next two years. In addition, new ticket vending machines will transform how information is delivered, featuring dual-screen technology for an improved customer experience. This remains on track to be delivered by Spring 2027.
Asked by: Susan Murray (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency has made of the potential impact of the new online medical services portal on people with medical conditions who are digitally excluded; and what alternative support is available to those unable to use online services.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency’s (DVLA) online services currently adhere to Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 and work is underway to bring all services to WCAG 2.2 level AA status to attain full compliance with the most recent accessibility requirements. These are an internationally recognised set of recommendations to ensure services are accessible to everyone, including users with impairments to their, vision, hearing, mobility and/or thinking/understanding.
As part of service development, the DVLA tests services with users who have a wide range of accessibility needs and uses a digital inclusion scale to ensure testing covers of varying skill and confidence levels. Ahead of any new service being launched, a service assessment is also conducted by independent panel members.
While digital services are increasingly available, the DVLA recognises that not all customers can or want to access services online or via a mobile device. Customers can contact the DVLA by telephone, or in writing in these circumstances and paper application facilities continue to be available.
The DVLA also offers a variety of reasonable adjustments to support customers, ranging from simple adjustments such as providing correspondence on coloured paper or in large print, to providing a Video Relay Service for British Sign Language users who want to contact the DVLA via telephone.