A Significant Moment for British Sign Language

 by Isobel Geddes

Rose Ayling-Ellis
(source of image: BBC)

Approximately a year ago I wrote an article that explored the idea of whether British Sign Language (BSL) should be taught in schools. In the article, I briefly mentioned the importance of the 5th of March 2018: the first time that BSL was used in Parliament as part of a debate on sign language becoming a part of the national curriculum. Today, on the 28th January 2022, British Sign Language saw another hurdle overcome. 

The Government announced backing of a proposed bill that would see BSL be recognised as an official language in the UK. Currently, BSL has no legal status, despite being declared as its own language by the Government in 2003. This means that there are no ‘legal protections’ that are seen with other languages such as Welsh or Gaelic, for example. With up to 250,000 people using BSL on a daily basis (according to figures from the British Deaf Association), it leads to questions on how the bill is still in the making 19 years on. In March last year, as part of Sign Language Week, nearly 90% of MPs received a letter from their Deaf constituents, as part of the campaign to introduce the BSL bill. With such a high turn out of supporters highlighting the importance of the deaf community, how has it taken so long to get this far? The problem is that the Equality Act fails to cover linguistics rights and so it is only in extreme cases that the consequences of the lack of the bill show there to be a significant inequality, as was seen when the Prime Minister’s Office did not even provide an interpeterfor public Covid-19 announcements, to state an example.

What changes would be seen if the bill is passed? Ultimately, the aim is to improve accessibility for deaf people whilst raising awareness, and it would include measures such as the use and promotion of BSL when making public service announcements. We would see the government make serious commitment to improving the lives of deaf people and strong encouragements towards organisations and companies to become more inclusive, with requirements to adhere to new guidance set out to meet the needs of the estimated 11 million deaf people in the UK. The British Deaf Association suggests that the legal protection would enable BSL users equal opportunities, education, and employment.

MP Rosie Cooper, who proposed the bill having grown up as a child with both her parents being deaf, suggests that recognising BSL would demonstrate to deaf people that “their language is equal and they should be treated as equal”. Amongst others, those voicing their support for the bill includes Rose-Ayling Ellis, an East-Enders actress who made history last year with her performance as the first deaf contestant (and winner) on the popular TV show Strictly Come Dancing. Meanwhile, the National Deaf Children’s Society commended the move as another big step towards a more equal society.

However, despite this positive news, it is important to note that this does not necessarily mean that we will see BSL become recognised in any near future. The bill is what is known as a Private Member’s Bill, which means that it has been proposed by a backbench MP. Unfortunately, these bills are often unsuccessful due to running out of time in the Commons. Nevertheless, that isn't to say that the significance of the backing is to be undermined. The securing of government support has significantly increased the chances of the bill being passed, and the bill currently needs to pass just two more stages to officially become the law, with the final reading expected to take place in March. 

To conclude, the backing from the Government that has been seen is incredibly important in the movement towards a more inclusive and equal society for BSL users. We must commemorate those like Rose-Ayling Ellis who have worked hard to raise awareness of the daily struggles for deaf and hard of hearing people. There is still a long way to go, but, if passed, this bill will act as a significant step in the right direction.