British Sign Language comes to Parliament – New All Party Parliamentary Group on British Sign Language
MPs and peers have come together on a cross-party basis to bring the voice of British Sign Language (BSL) signers to Westminster. This is the first time any UK parliament will have an All Party group dedicated to addressing the aspirations of BSL signers.
The new group will campaign for Government to support families of deaf children to learn sign language – to enable them to communicate with their child. It will work to celebrate Sign Language Week every year, starting with a Westminster Hall debate on March 20, 2025, and will raise other concerns of BSL signers including the future of deaf education.
Chair of the Group: Jen Craft MP
Jen Craft, Labour MP for Thurrock, will chair the new Group. She said,
“As the mum of a daughter with hearing loss, I passionately want to see her get the support she needs to live her life to the full. My husband and I use British Sign Language at home as part of our toolkit to help her communicate, confident in the evidence that this supports the development of her language and communication skills. I am thrilled to chair the new All Party Group and want it to be a strong force for change in government policy.”
British Deaf Association: Secretariat of the Group
Rebecca Mansell, Chief Executive of the British Deaf Association, which has been appointed as the secretariat of the new Group, said,
“Deaf people want to make a full and active contribution to society, to shape the policies and services that affect us and to remove the barriers to our contributing to a stronger and more inclusive United Kingdom. I’m so incredibly proud that we are able to support this group of MPs and peers and believe that it is a major step on the road to full equality of opportunity.”
Treasurer: Katie Lam MP
Katie Lam, Conservative MP for Weald of Kent, the Treasurer of the APPG, said,
“MPs and peers of all parties have committed to working together to promote British Sign Language as an indigenous language of the UK and show people a bit of BSL in Parliament. We are committed to supporting the UK’s deaf community and bringing language and the ability to communicate to everyone.”
Notes
- The formal objectives of the new APPG are “To raise the profile of British Sign Language in Parliament; to bring the voice of BSL signers into Westminster and to promote the aspirations of the signing community.”
- The British Deaf Association (BDA) is the UK’s only national organisation that represents Deaf people whose first or preferred language is British Sign Language (BSL) – or Irish Sign Language (ISL) in Northern Ireland. It was established in 1890 to fight for the right of Deaf children to use sign language in educational settings.
- British Sign Language is a signed, visual language that uses hand and body movements as well as facial expressions and eye gaze to express meaning. It is a language in its own right with its own vocabulary, grammar and syntax. BSL is not dependent upon or related to English and is used mainly by people who are Deaf, their families and friends, and interpreters, teachers and other professionals who work with Deaf people.
