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Sector celebrates passing of BSL (Scotland) Bill
British Sign Language (BSL) has been recognised as a language in law for the first time with the passing of the BSL (Scotland) Bill. The Bill requires the Scottish Ministers to “promote, and facilitate the promotion of, the use and understanding of the language known as British Sign Language”. The Bill, introduced by Mark Griffin […]
Read MoreCross sector support for statement of common purpose
Almost 60 organisations are already supporting the statement of common purpose on deafness and hearing loss. The list already represents the breadth of the sector. It includes organisations that work with or represent people of all ages who are Deaf, deaf, deafened, deafblind or have a hearing loss; the myriad of responses to deafness and […]
Read MoreLilian Greenwood MP to lead Parliamentary group on deafness
Lilian Greenwood, the Labour Member of Parliament for Nottingham South, has been elected chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Deafness. Lilian said: “I’m delighted to have been elected to this role and look forward to leading the group in an ambitious programme of work. “Many government policies are having an impact on people […]
Read MoreNew on-demand video sign language service at Noble’s Hospital, Isle of Man
A new sign language interpretation service which uses an online video link has been officially launched at Noble’s Hospital. The initiative will provide an improved service for patients who are Deaf as well as offering better value for money. The service is a result of a collaboration between Noble’s Hospital, the Manx Deaf Society, the […]
Read MoreDeaf sector pulls together ahead of general election
Organisations concerned with deafness and hearing loss will be working collectively to influence the next government following agreement of a statement of common purpose. Organisations are now from all sectors are now being asked to become founder signatories and promote the statement. A campaign will be launched after the general election to raise awareness of […]
Read MoreNext Generation Text Service
Deaf Access to Communications (DAC) have issued the following press release: DAC PRESS RELEASE (pdf) PRESS RELEASE: 25 March 2015 NEXT GENERATION TEXT SERVICE Ofcom has fined BT £800,000 for failing to provide an improved text-to-voice service between April and September last year. The service, called ‘Next Generation Text Service’, helps users have more natural conversations […]
Read MoreSelect committee concerned by government action on Access to Work
The chair of the Work and Pensions Committee, Dame Anne Begg MP, has expressed concern about government action on Access to Work. Dame Anne wrote to the Minister for Disabled People after he told her he wouldn’t be responding formally to their report on Access to Work until after the general election. Dame Anne was also concerned that […]
Read MoreBT fined over text relay
BT have been fined £800K by Ofcom for failing to provide the Next Generation Text Service within their deadline. Press Release, 17 March 2015 Ofcom has today fined BT £800,000 for failing to provide an improved text-to-voice service for its customers with hearing or speech impairments between April and September last year. The service, called […]
Read MoreMinisterial statement about changes to Access to Work
Mr Mark Harper MP, (The Minister for Disable People), has today submitted a written statement on Access to Work to which UK Council on Deafness will be responding. Access to Work : Written statement – HCWS372 Department for Work and Pensions Made on: 12 March 2015 by Mr Mark Harper MP Statement: Access to Work plays […]
Read MorePlans to deny hearing aids to people in North Staffordshire
On Friday, the Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) published the board papers for the meeting on 4 March. Agenda item 11 is to approve Hearing Loss Commissioning Policy and Eligibility Criteria. See http://www.northstaffsccg.nhs.uk/boardpapers. There are full details of the Commissioning Policy and Eligibility Criteria in the notes – please see pages 42 – 48. Action on Hearing Loss […]
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