 British Sign Language Scotland Bill policy memorandum introduction this document relates to the British Sign Language Scotland Bill it has been prepared by the non-government bills unit on behalf of Mark Griffin MSP the member who introduced the bill in accordance with rule 9.3.3 a of the Parliament standing orders the contents are entirely the responsibility of the member and have not been endorsed by the Parliament. explanatory notes and other accompanying documents are published separately policy objectives of the bill the British Sign Language Scotland Bill the bill aims to promote the use of British Sign Language BSL principally by requiring BSL plans to be prepared and published by the Scottish ministers and listed public authorities. Plans will be reviewed reported on via the performance review report and updated at regular intervals. The intention is that by placing this obligation on the Scottish government and listed authorities the profile of the language will be heightened and its use in the delivery of services increased. Background BSL is the first language of many deaf people in Scotland it is a visual chestural language which uses space and movement grammatically and face and head are used to communicate and it has a different grammatical structure to English. Across Scotland BSL is viewed as the indigenous manual language of its users in the same way that English is the indigenous spoken language. Death people who use BSL are part of a recognized cultural and linguistic minority. Unlike people who speak other minority languages many deaf sign language users cannot learn to speak English as they cannot hear the language. The then Scottish Executives February 2007 consultation document a strategy for Scotland's languages describe BSL as a real full and living language and is an important element of a rich cultural heritage. It has its own vocabulary structure and grammar which is different from English and like spoken languages in Scotland has its own regional variations and dialects. The Scottish government's British Sign Language and Linguistic Access Working Group found that one important difference between minority language speakers and sign language users is that deaf people who use BSL are less likely to be bilingual and this has huge implications for policies and for services. It is not simply that deaf people prefer BSL to English as many Scots, Gaelic, Welsh or Irish speakers may prefer their own languages to English. It is that deaf people are not in a position to acquire English in the usual way. Deaf BSL users consider themselves a distinct language group and not disabled. They have a unique culture, history and life experience as a language minority and feel that actions to improve their inclusion in society should be based on exactly the same language approach to other groups. There are an estimated 5,000 to 6,000 deaf BSL users in Scotland. Action on hearing loss estimates that 850,000 people in Scotland experience some level of hearing loss and up to 5,000 people in Scotland experience a dual sensory impairment. Over 1,000 children and young people in Scotland under the age of 19 have severe or profound hearing loss and it is estimated that 120 children each year are born with a hearing loss. The impact of a child being born with a hearing loss can be great on parents, guardians, siblings and other family members, many of whom are hearing. It can be difficult for parents and other family members to become educated in BSL with many having to pay for courses simply to communicate with the child. Furthermore, on a wider scale it can be difficult for BSL users to communicate with the general population as BSL English sign language interpreters are in short supply. Scottish Association of Sign Language Interpreters, Sassley figures show that Scotland's entire deaf population has to rely on 80 dedicated sign language interpreters. Scottish Government Action. In 2000 the then Scottish Executive set up the British Sign Language and Linguistic Access Working Group. The working group was made up of representatives from deaf organisations and executive officials. The purpose of the group was to develop a cohesive strategy for improving linguistic access for deaf people in Scotland as well as raising awareness of deaf issues among policymakers, professionals, service providers, deaf people and the general population. A report by the working group was published by the Scottish Government in February 2009. Scoping study, linguistic access to education for deaf pupils and students in Scotland. This scoping study looked at all aspects of how deaf pupils and students get on within the education system in Scotland. One of the aspects looked at was the risk of isolation in mainstream situations. The report stated, in many cases, a deaf child may be the only deaf child in a class or in a school. There were examples of schools making good efforts to include individual deaf pupils, particularly at primary stage. For example, assemblies on topics related to deafness, pupils and staff undertaking BSL qualifications. In August 2009, the working group published a report, The Long and Winding Road, a road map to British Sign Language and Linguistic Access in Scotland. The document acknowledged that, the road map cannot hope to address all aspects of access for deaf people living in Scotland. It does outline many of the major issues and points to some of the ways towards improvement, particularly in public policy. However, the report also stated that, the working group has a robust vision of what needs to be in place to improve linguistic access for deaf and deafblind people and that it maintains a determined focus of deploying resources towards long-term aims. It envisages a world where deaf people would be automatically afforded the same life chances as the fellow citizens. In such a world, families with deaf babies would be supported to meet the linguistic needs of their child at the appropriate age. Deaf pupils would have the same school attainments as the pairs. BSL would be offered as an educational tool for deaf pupils who prefer it. Pupils could study BSL and deaf culture as a curriculum subject from primary school through to university. All public services would be deaf and deafblind aware. Deaf and deafblind people would be provided with timely information. Information would always be provided in a range of accessible formats. The implications of deafness would be understood and valued by society. In March 2011, the Scottish government made a formal statement recognising the need to support the use of BSL. The then Public Health Minister, Shona Robison, MSP said, British Sign Language is a vibrant language which makes a vital difference to the daily lives of many deaf people in Scotland. It is important that we do all we can to support the use of the language. The bill seeks to build on this vision and the Scottish government's intentions are set out in its roadmap. The bill will not in itself close any existing service gaps, but will represent an important stepping stone in the process for the development of BSL provision.