 effects on equal opportunities, human rights, island communities, local government, sustainable development, etc. Equal Opportunities The bill does not have an adverse impact on the basis of gender or gender reassignment, marital status, religion and belief, pregnancy and maternity or sexual orientation. Disability is a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010. Deafness would generally qualify as a disability under the Act, regardless of whether deaf people consider themselves as having a disability. It is anticipated that a consequence of the bill will be a greater equality of access to services provided by public bodies, regardless of disability and as such, it will have a positive impact on most individuals within this group. At the same time, it must be recognised that individuals with a hearing loss who do not use BSL might be at a disadvantage compared with the rest of the hearing impaired population as a result of the bill. With regard to age, a greater proportion of older people suffer from hearing loss. Although only a proportion of those affected will adopt BSL, the bill will have a positive impact for those who do in their engagement with public bodies. It is anticipated that an effect of the bill will be to broaden opportunities to learn BSL which could deliver positive benefits for the older age group. Service users with a range of ethnic or racial backgrounds may encounter some difficulties accessing services in their first language. The provisions in this bill do not prevent public bodies from developing policies relating to other minority languages. Human Rights The bill does not give rise to any issues under the European Convention on Human Rights. It is designed to enhance the rights of all those who use BSL. The Scottish Human Rights Commission, the commission, promotes and protects the human rights guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights which form part of the law of Scotland through the Human Rights Act 1998 and the Scotland Act 1998. The commission also promotes and protects other human rights which have been granted by international conventions ratified by the UK. The commission states that the foundation of modern human rights is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, UDHR. The core values of the UDHR are human dignity, fairness, equality and non-discrimination. The bill enhances the human rights principle of equality and non-discrimination, the principle that all individuals are equal as human beings and by virtue of the inherent dignity of each human person. It seeks to do so by enabling users of BSL to enjoy the same level of service as those who use other languages. Participation in inclusion, the principle that all people have the right to participate in and access information relating to the decision making processes that affect their lives and wellbeing, should also be enhanced by the bill since it will lead to a consideration of how BSL users can be involved in decision making about services that affect them through the provision of information in their own language and the opportunity to engage with government and its agencies using their own language. Island Communities The bill is designed to benefit all BSL users in Scotland and does not have any specific implications for those living in island communities. Nevertheless, it is hoped that those living in island communities will benefit from the bill through its potential to identify any gaps in provision that might arise from the availability of BSL skills among those delivering public services in areas with low population density. Local Government Under the bill, local authorities being listed authorities under the bill will set out action in relation to BSL in authority plans and must try to achieve consistency with the national plan and any guidance issued by the Scottish ministers. In producing plans subsequent to the first session, local authorities will be required to review and report progress with their previous plans. The Scottish Government will use this review report to form part of its performance review. The financial impact of local authorities new responsibilities under the bill is set out in the financial memorandum. Sustainable Development The UK shared framework for sustainable development was abducted by the Scottish Government in 2005. Commitment to the framework was reaffirmed in the recent draft Scottish planning policy. The framework includes the principle ensuring a strong, healthy and just society, meeting the diverse needs of all people in existing and future communities, promoting wellbeing, social cohesion and creating equal opportunity for all. The bill puts this principle into practice by ensuring that those delivering public services give consideration to the needs of BSL users with the aim of ensuring that such individuals have an equal opportunity to access their services. The Christie Commission report closer reflects the sustainable development aims of intra and intergenerational equity and public participation. The bill seeks to help meet the needs of members of the deaf community, not only to access services more easily, thereby reducing inequalities, but also to prevent the exclusion of deaf people at a time when the public sector is seeking to implement the commission's recommendation that people and communities be allowed to participate in the design and delivery of these services. Through this inclusion, it is hoped that some negative outcomes can be prevented, as is the aspiration of the Scottish Government's response to the commission. It is envisaged that the bill will help to increase the awareness and acceptance of BSL and deaf culture, thereby increasing social capital and improving the wellbeing and social cohesion not only of deaf people, but of wider society also. Deaf language and culture would be promoted should the bill give rise to broader use of BSL within public bodies and lead to the provision of courses for families and interested parties. Greater awareness and use of BSL in schools would help to promote the social cohesion and equality of opportunity by ensuring that all children, regardless of whether they have any hearing loss, are exposed to the language. In economic terms, better access to and engagement with public services and public service providers could improve the life chances of deaf people and therefore increase their capability for economic participation.