City of Wolverhampton Council has become the first council in England to achieve Pledge 2 status in the BDA’s Charter for British Sign Language.
The BDA’s Senior Community Development Manager, Paul Redfern, presented Councillor Ian Claymore with the award at the Mayor of Wolverhampton’s parlour to acknowledge the council’s continuing commitment to improve access and support for the Deaf Community:
“The BDA is delighted to present this certificate of achievement to City of Wolverhampton Council. The council is the first in England to be awarded this certificate and I would like to congratulate the council for their work in including deaf people in its services and improving their responses to deaf people’s feedback.”
The BDA’s Charter for British Sign Language encourages councils to meet several pledges to help eliminate unlawful discrimination, support equal opportunities, and build good relations with the deaf community.
City of Wolverhampton’s commitment to 3 of the 5 key pledges ensures they will continue to provide access to information and services for deaf people, promote learning and high quality teaching of BSL, consult with the deaf community on a regular basis, support deaf children and families, and ensure staff working with deaf people can communicate effectively in BSL.
Speaking at the event, Councillor Claymore, Member Champion for Equalities, said
“I am delighted City of Wolverhampton Council has achieved Pledge 2 of the BDA Charter. The council is committed to doing all it can to support everyone who lives, works or visits the City of Wolverhampton and the completion of the first pledge puts us on the right track. One in 7 people in the UK have some form of hearing loss, and by signing this charter, and completing the first pledge, we have underlined our determination to further improve the service we offer to members of the deaf community in Wolverhampton.”
