Forum Brief: Sign language

The government officially recognised British Sign Language yesterday.

Andrew Smith, the secretary of state for work and pensions, said: "BSL is more than simply a means of communication. We are talking about a culture as well."

Forum Response: Disability Rights Commission

A spokesman for the Disability Rights Commission told ePolitix.com: "We very much welcome the government's official recognition of British Sign Language. It is certainly a step in the right direction and we applaud the government for doing something in this area."

Forum Response: National Deaf Children's Society

Susan Daniels, chief executive of the NDCS, said: "This is a step in the right direction for enhancing the rights of parents of deaf children. No longer will there be 'No sign language used here' at the school gates.

"BSL should be placed on an equal footing to other minority languages, and such a measure will greatly enhance deaf children's access to all school and pre-school provision. This announcement will make it much more difficult for Local Education Authorities not to make provisions for deaf children to access BSL in educational settings, and will hopefully put an end to the current situation that can see parents moving around the country or having to send their child away to find a school that will meet the needs of their child.

"Any measure that enhances the communication options available to deaf children will have huge benefits. We hope that this is only the beginning and that eventually BSL will be included in the National Curriculum."

Forum Response: British Council of Disabled People

Andy Rickell, chief executive of the BCoDP, told ePolitix.com: "The decision by the government to eventually recognise BSL as an official language is an important step forward in deaf people's human and civil rights and is to be applauded.

"This policy decision now needs to be backed up by action and resources to make it a reality. This decision follows the effective campaigning of deaf people themselves, and organisations run by deaf people like the British Deaf Association, a member group of the BCODP and part of the disabled people's movement.

"We as disabled people ourselves are pleased with this advancement in rights for part of our community. We would now like to see BSL made part of the National Curriculum, in order to mainstream it, and to work towards the much larger numbers of qualified BSL interpreters who are needed if this decision is to provide the real benefits it promises."

Forum Response: The Disabilities Trust

A spokesman for the Disabilities Trust told ePolitix.com: "The Disabilities Trust welcomes the government's decision to officially recognise British Sign Language.

"It is of course a vital resource for the deaf community that enables people with hearing impairments to enjoy a superior quality of life and like the British Deaf Association we hope it will help spearhead greater integration of people with hearing impairments into mainstream society."