Sign Language Bill Committee report summary

This is a written transcript of a video providing a summary of the Committee for Communities’ report on the Sign Language Bill.

Sign Language Bill - Committee for Communities

The Sign Language Bill (Northern Ireland) 2025 was referred to the Committee for Communities for consideration on 18 February 2025.

The Committee opened its Call for Evidence on 7 March 2025, this closed on 9 May 2025. Responses were received from 42 organisations or individuals via Citizen Space and 44 signed responses via WhatsApp.

The Committee considered evidence from relevant organisations and briefings from the Department of Communities over the course of 13 meetings. Overall the Committee heard from 18 stakeholder groups.

After considering evidence and taking advice, the Committee secured a number of amendments to the legislation, including:

  • Raising the age of young people who can access sign language classes from under 19 to under 25.
  • Making sure any organisation which is added or removed from the list of organisations which need to adhere to the new law and any new rules about how teachers and interpreters are accredited, are now able to be scrutinised more rigorously by the Assembly
  • Rather than consulting with ‘at least one person or group’ the Department must now consult with ‘at least two persons or groups’ when it is implementing various parts of the Bill, and all groups within the deaf community must be represented.
  • Making sure that any report about the impact of the new law is laid before the Assembly for scrutiny, and
  • Rather than a report being produced every 5 years, the initial report would be completed after 5 years to allow for the law to be embedded, however subsequent reports would be completed every 3 years.

The committee also outlined a number of recommendations, both for the Department and for subsequent Committees for Communities to consider in terms of post-legislative scrutiny of the Sign Language Bill.

These include, making sure:

  • Effective consultation with the Deaf Community is consistent with the UNCRC and UNCRPD obligations, including Article 4(3) and General Comment No. 7.
  • People over the age of 25 are supported through other policy areas to learn sign language if they become deaf through illness or injury.
  • All parts of the Sign Language Bill are commenced within the timeframe indicated during scrutiny, that is “a few days” post–Royal Assent (all but clause 3), to ensure the first impact report is produced in 2031.
  • long-term and sustainable funding arrangements support the effective implementation of the Bill.
  • a clear strategy is in place to address the supply, accreditation, regulation and retention of sign language tutors, interpreters and specifically deafblind interpreters, where the Committee understands there is a considerable gap.
  • the specific needs and experiences of deafblind people are explicitly reflected across all aspects of implementation, including interpreting provision, social work services, access to healthcare, transport and reporting mechanisms.
  • Collaborative work with other departments addresses barriers within education, mental health, social work, employment and transport services.
  • it is clear what is meant by ‘promote’ and what “persons or groups exercising functions of a public character” means in practical terms, to mitigate any misunderstanding that this may mean services outside the public sector.
  • prescribed organisations are guided to develop their sign language action plans within a specific timeframe to include clear enforcement and complaints mechanisms.
  • all plans, statutory guidance and measurable reports are publicly available, transparent and accessible in BSL, ISL and English.
  • greater clarity on the application of “reasonable steps” is given within the forthcoming guidance, ensuring that considerations of affordability and practicability do not result in reduced standards of access for the deaf community, and that services are as accessible to them as they are to people in the hearing community.
  • further consideration is given to the inclusion of private and voluntary sector bodies delivering public-facing services, in order to promote consistency of access across society and through everyday life, which may include introducing an enhanced voucher scheme and providing access to a central VRS.