Recognising British Sign Language in Scotland

Lawson, Lilian; McLean, Frankie; O'Neill, Rachel; Wilks, Rob

Abstract

A delegation of Deaf people met Members of the Scottish Parliament when it was opened in 1999 to discuss the recognition of British Sign Language (BSL). Members of the cross-party group on deafness, along with the positive support from civil servants in the Equality Unit, proposed a BSL Bill. There followed a period of tensions between the Deaf community and others as the legislation was shaped.

The BSL (Scotland) Act 2015 was passed on 17 September 2015, receiving Royal Assent on 22 October 2015, signifying a new era in the BSL campaign for legal recognition across the UK. It aims to promote and facilitate the promotion of, the use and understanding of BSL (section 1) including the preparation and publication of national plans in relation to BSL, requiring public authorities (as listed in the Schedule) to prepare and publish their own BSL plans.

This chapter reviews the BSL campaign that led to the enactment of the Act, ascertains its main stumbling blocks and obstacles along the way, and explores what progress has been made since it entered the statute books.

• Online Publication Date: Jun 17, 2019
• Publication Date: Jun 17, 2019
• Deposit Date: Jan 9, 2024
• Pages: 67-81
• Book Title: The Legal Recognition of Sign Languages: Advocacy and Outcomes Around the World
• Chapter Number: 4
• ISBN: 9781788923996
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/11598514
• Publisher URL: https://www.multilingual-matters.com/page/detail/The-Legal-Recognition-of-Sign-Languages/?k=9781788923996