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Written Question
Students: Hearing Impairment
Monday 15th January 2024

Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to provide support for deaf students.

Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The department’s ambition is for all children and young people, no matter what their Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), to receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life. The department is creating a new single national SEND and Alternative Provision (AP) system for how needs are identified and met across education, health and care (EHC). This new single national system will set standards on what support should be made available in mainstream settings, including for children with hearing impairments, as well as guidance on when an EHC plan is required, and when specialist provision, including AP, is most appropriate for meeting a child or young person’s needs.

The department is committed to ensuring a steady supply of teachers of children with hearing impairments in both specialist and mainstream settings. To teach a class of pupils with hearing impairments, a teacher is required to hold the relevant mandatory qualification (MQSI). There are currently six providers of the MQSI, with a seventh from September 2024. In addition, the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education is developing a new occupational standard for teachers of sensory impairment, expected to launch in 2025.

In addition, on 21 December 2023 the government published final subject content for a GCSE in British Sign Language. Exam board specifications should be available in 2025.

The department recognises that meeting needs in mainstream settings will not be appropriate for all children and young people, which is why the department has invested £2.6 billion between 2022 and 2025 to deliver new places and improve existing provision for children and young people with SEND, as well as those who require AP. Funding for those with complex needs is also rising to £10.5 billion in 2024/25, an increase of over 60 per cent since 2019/20.


Written Question
Jobcentres: Hearing Impairment
Monday 11th December 2023

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, how many British sign language users accessed Jobcentres in the most recent period for which data is available.

Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The information requested cannot be provided because it is not collated centrally.


Written Question
Disasters and Disease Control: Disability
Tuesday 5th December 2023

Asked by: Justin Tomlinson (Conservative - North Swindon)

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps his Department has taken to ensure the provision of accessible communications for disabled people in (a) pandemic and (b) disaster preparedness work.

Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The Government Communication Service (GCS) is committed to ensuring that all government communications are available and accessible to all audiences. Its crisis communications operating model commits to improving preparedness plans across the risks facing the government. This includes meeting statutory requirements and setting standards of best practice for accessible communications.

Departments make commonly-requested alternative formats of communications such as Easy Read and Large Print available in order to meet people’s needs. The recently published British Sign Language (BSL) report details what the government is doing to promote and facilitate the use of BSL in its communications with the public.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, GCS continuously engaged with disability charities, using polling and focus groups with hard-to-reach audiences, to better understand how our communications were received. Examples of new guidance were also discussed in regular sessions with disability charities and experts in accessibility, so these groups could review and make recommendations on how to improve government communications. We used these insights to improve government messaging and challenge misinformation.


Written Question
Press Conferences: 10 Downing Street
Tuesday 5th December 2023

Asked by: Justin Tomlinson (Conservative - North Swindon)

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that all press conferences from Downing Street are provided with British Sign Language translation during national emergencies.

Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

I refer the Hon Member for North Swindon to my answer on 15th November 2023 (PQ 322).


Written Question
Patients: Information
Monday 27th November 2023

Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that health and care information is provided in an accessible format.

Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)

National Health Service organisations and publicly funded social care providers must comply with the Accessible Information Standard (AIS) to meet the communication needs of patients and carers with a disability, impairment, or sensory loss. NHS England has completed a review of the AIS to help ensure that everyone’s communication needs are met in health and care provision. The review considered the effectiveness of the current AIS, how the standard is implemented and enforced in practice, and identified recommendations for improvement. The revised standard will be published in due course.

Following publication of the revised standard, NHS England will continue work to support implementation with awareness raising, communication and engagement and updated e-learning modules on the AIS to ensure NHS staff are better aware of the standard and their roles and responsibilities in implementing it.

These actions should support better and more consistent implementation of the standard.

In addition to the AIS, following Royal Assent of the British Sign Language Act 2022, the Government Communication Service will promote and facilitate the use of British Sign Language (BSL) in communications with the public. This is expected to support BSL users to access public services, including health and care services. Our work to promote BSL builds on a longstanding departmental commitment to ensuring our content is accessible for disabled audiences. Our GOV.UK and social media content closely follows guidance from the Government Digital Service. All videos are captioned for those who are hard of hearing, graphics have accessible texts and colours for those with reading difficulties and have voiceover descriptions for the partially sighted.


Written Question
Patients: Information
Monday 27th November 2023

Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department plans to increase funding for accessible health information.

Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)

National Health Service organisations and publicly funded social care providers must comply with the Accessible Information Standard (AIS) to meet the communication needs of patients and carers with a disability, impairment, or sensory loss. NHS England has completed a review of the AIS to help ensure that everyone’s communication needs are met in health and care provision. The review considered the effectiveness of the current AIS, how the standard is implemented and enforced in practice, and identified recommendations for improvement. The revised standard will be published in due course.

Following publication of the revised standard, NHS England will continue work to support implementation with awareness raising, communication and engagement and updated e-learning modules on the AIS to ensure NHS staff are better aware of the standard and their roles and responsibilities in implementing it.

These actions should support better and more consistent implementation of the standard.

In addition to the AIS, following Royal Assent of the British Sign Language Act 2022, the Government Communication Service will promote and facilitate the use of British Sign Language (BSL) in communications with the public. This is expected to support BSL users to access public services, including health and care services. Our work to promote BSL builds on a longstanding departmental commitment to ensuring our content is accessible for disabled audiences. Our GOV.UK and social media content closely follows guidance from the Government Digital Service. All videos are captioned for those who are hard of hearing, graphics have accessible texts and colours for those with reading difficulties and have voiceover descriptions for the partially sighted.


Written Question
Health Services and Social Services: Disability
Monday 27th November 2023

Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to help ensure that providers of health and care services are producing information in adequately accessible format.

Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)

National Health Service organisations and publicly funded social care providers must comply with the Accessible Information Standard (AIS) to meet the communication needs of patients and carers with a disability, impairment, or sensory loss. NHS England has completed a review of the AIS to help ensure that everyone’s communication needs are met in health and care provision. The review considered the effectiveness of the current AIS, how the standard is implemented and enforced in practice, and identified recommendations for improvement. The revised standard will be published in due course.

Following publication of the revised standard, NHS England will continue work to support implementation with awareness raising, communication and engagement and updated e-learning modules on the AIS to ensure NHS staff are better aware of the standard and their roles and responsibilities in implementing it.

These actions should support better and more consistent implementation of the standard.

In addition to the AIS, following Royal Assent of the British Sign Language Act 2022, the Government Communication Service will promote and facilitate the use of British Sign Language (BSL) in communications with the public. This is expected to support BSL users to access public services, including health and care services. Our work to promote BSL builds on a longstanding departmental commitment to ensuring our content is accessible for disabled audiences. Our GOV.UK and social media content closely follows guidance from the Government Digital Service. All videos are captioned for those who are hard of hearing, graphics have accessible texts and colours for those with reading difficulties and have voiceover descriptions for the partially sighted.


Written Question
Patients: Information
Monday 27th November 2023

Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department plans to revise the NHS Accessible Information Standard.

Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)

National Health Service organisations and publicly funded social care providers must comply with the Accessible Information Standard (AIS) to meet the communication needs of patients and carers with a disability, impairment, or sensory loss. NHS England has completed a review of the AIS to help ensure that everyone’s communication needs are met in health and care provision. The review considered the effectiveness of the current AIS, how the standard is implemented and enforced in practice, and identified recommendations for improvement. The revised standard will be published in due course.

Following publication of the revised standard, NHS England will continue work to support implementation with awareness raising, communication and engagement and updated e-learning modules on the AIS to ensure NHS staff are better aware of the standard and their roles and responsibilities in implementing it.

These actions should support better and more consistent implementation of the standard.

In addition to the AIS, following Royal Assent of the British Sign Language Act 2022, the Government Communication Service will promote and facilitate the use of British Sign Language (BSL) in communications with the public. This is expected to support BSL users to access public services, including health and care services. Our work to promote BSL builds on a longstanding departmental commitment to ensuring our content is accessible for disabled audiences. Our GOV.UK and social media content closely follows guidance from the Government Digital Service. All videos are captioned for those who are hard of hearing, graphics have accessible texts and colours for those with reading difficulties and have voiceover descriptions for the partially sighted.


Written Question
Health Services and Social Services: Disability
Monday 27th November 2023

Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans NHS England has to update the Accessible Information Standard.

Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)

National Health Service organisations and publicly funded social care providers must comply with the Accessible Information Standard (AIS) to meet the communication needs of patients and carers with a disability, impairment, or sensory loss. NHS England has completed a review of the AIS to help ensure that everyone’s communication needs are met in health and care provision. The review considered the effectiveness of the current AIS, how the standard is implemented and enforced in practice, and identified recommendations for improvement. The revised standard will be published in due course.

Following publication of the revised standard, NHS England will continue work to support implementation with awareness raising, communication and engagement and updated e-learning modules on the AIS to ensure NHS staff are better aware of the standard and their roles and responsibilities in implementing it.

These actions should support better and more consistent implementation of the standard.

In addition to the AIS, following Royal Assent of the British Sign Language Act 2022, the Government Communication Service will promote and facilitate the use of British Sign Language (BSL) in communications with the public. This is expected to support BSL users to access public services, including health and care services. Our work to promote BSL builds on a longstanding departmental commitment to ensuring our content is accessible for disabled audiences. Our GOV.UK and social media content closely follows guidance from the Government Digital Service. All videos are captioned for those who are hard of hearing, graphics have accessible texts and colours for those with reading difficulties and have voiceover descriptions for the partially sighted.


Written Question
Victims: Disability
Thursday 23rd November 2023

Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, will the proposed Victims and Prisoners Bill consider placing a statutory duty on criminal justice agencies to provide accessible information to disabled victims about their rights and entitlements, pursuant to Right 1 of the Victims’ Charter.

Answered by Laura Farris - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Ministry of Justice) (jointly with Home Office)

This Government is committed to ensuring that all victims are made aware of their entitlements under the Code of Practice for Victims of Crime (‘the Victims’ Code’), and the Victims and Prisoners Bill (‘the Bill’) already takes appropriate steps to require that criminal justice agencies provide accessible information to victims about their rights and entitlements.

The Bill places a statutory duty on criminal justice agencies to raise awareness of the Victims’ Code with victims, which includes those affected by disabilities. Statutory guidance will set out ways this can be done effectively, including how materials can be made more accessible for different individual needs.

The Bill also places the overarching principles of the Victims’ Code into legislation, including the principle that victims should be provided with information to help them understand the criminal justice process.

This principle underlines the existing requirements in the Victims’ Code under Right 1, which entitles victims to be helped to understand what is happening and to be understood. This obliges criminal justice agencies to consider relevant personal characteristics which may affect a victim’s ability to understand or be understood and requires them to communicate in an accessible way. This includes protected characteristics such as disability. To ensure the Code itself is accessible, it is available in a range of formats and languages on GOV.UK, including a HTML version that is compatible with screen reading technology, large print, easy read and British Sign Language.

The Bill also introduces measures to improve support for victims of crime including a duty on Police and Crime Commissioners, local authorities and health bodies to collaborate when commissioning support services for victims of domestic abuse, sexual abuse and other serious violence. Within this, commissioners are required to have regard to the particular needs of those with protected characteristics, including victims who are disabled. In addition, the Bill requires that statutory guidance is published about the roles of Independent Sexual Violence Advisors (ISVAs) and Independent Domestic Violence Advisors (IDVAs), which will provide the necessary flexibility for these roles to support the individual needs of victims who are disabled. Together these measures recognise the importance of tailored services to meet the diverse needs of victims.