A new British Sign Language (BSL) Plan has been approved by East Lothian Council’s Cabinet.
A new British Sign Language (BSL) Plan has been approved by East Lothian Council’s Cabinet.
The plan, which covers the period 2024-2030, commits the Council to:
- Improve communication and access to services for people who use BSL in East Lothian
- Promote the use of and understanding of BSL across the county
- Engage with BSL users.
Council Leader Norman Hampshire said:
“This is a very important plan which recognises the importance of continuing good, proactive engagement with the BSL community. There is a focus on ensuring that the views of BSL users are harnessed to assist in reviewing the plan and its implementation.
“I particularly welcome the fact that the Council held two engagement events earlier this year with the support of NHS Lothian colleagues and the British Deaf Association (BDA) to gather feedback on the existing plan.
“The plan reflects our strong commitment to tackling inequality and promoting inclusion. It can help us to further increase awareness, knowledge and understanding across our council services.”
The Plan includes an action plan covering key services for BSL users:
- Accessing information and support
- Education and learning – from pre-school onwards
- Culture and arts
- Health and wellbeing
- Employment
- Transport
Background
The BSL (Scotland) Act 2015 received Royal Assent in October 2015 and placed an obligation on the Scottish Ministers to publish a BSL Plan in 2017, followed by Local Authority plans. National Plans and local plans are to be produced every six years thereafter.
East Lothian Council adopted its BSL Plan 2018-2024 in September 2019. This set out local priorities and actions identified through engagement with BSL users and based around the ten long-term national goals adopted by the national plan.
The Scottish Government published its second British Sign Language (BSL) National Plan 2023- 2029 in November 2023. It has ten long-term goals which were co-produced with BSL users across Scotland. The core long-term goal is that ‘the Scottish Government wants to make Scotland the best place in the world for BSL users to live, work and visit’. In line with the legislation local authorities have been mandated to produce their new BSL Plans for 2024-2030 by May 2024.