Students flag up MP’s data for BSL bill
STUDENTS from Edge Hill’s brand new ‘Politics Lab’ have been supporting local MP Rosie Cooper’s bid to have British Sign Language (BSL) recognised as a language in its own right within Law in the United Kingdom.
West Lancashire MP Rosie Cooper had her Private Members Bill, the British Sign Language Bill, debated in Parliament on January 28 – and it was unopposed, with further scrutiny due at a later date.
Ahead of the debate students studying Politics and other degree courses worked in the ‘Politics Lab’ to produce a detailed briefing document for Rosie.
Students conducted interviews, including with former Minister for Disabled People Maria Eagle MP and the head of Edge Hill’s Sign Language Society, as well as researching all aspects of BSL use in the UK.
If passed the Bill will recognise BSL as a language within statute and require the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions to issue guidance to each Ministerial Department on the promotion and protection of BSL.
BA (Hons) Politics and Sociology student Alex Woodhead said: “I’m partially deaf in both ears so I was really keen to play a part in this project, helping to get more support for deaf people as well as fighting discrimination. Rosie Cooper’s passion has been really inspiring; she knows the issues from her own background and is determined to make a difference.”
Ms Cooper said: “I want to thank all the students that worked on this research. The information, data and first-hand accounts they collected will be invaluable to me when drafting my speech for the debate and in convincing other MPs to back the Bill.
“This is such an important issue to me. Growing up surrounded by deaf people and deaf culture, they gave me so much and this is my opportunity to pay them back. This is not a solo effort of course, although my name is on the Bill it is all hands on deck. That is why I am so grateful that an extensive piece of research like this has been produced from within my constituency! The students have done their University proud.”
The students found there are an estimated 151,000 sign language users in the UK some 87,000 of those use it as their first language.
Despite its widespread use there is still a national shortage of BSL interpreters making it difficult for deaf people to communicate in everyday situations like going to the doctors, some career paths are still impossible to pursue and it can be difficult to play a full role in public life.
Programme Lead for Politics Paula Keaveney said: “Students really gain from looking into a topic, working with an MP and seeing how that work translates into the world of potential legislation. There is no substitute for this.”
Ms Cooper’s Bill has been buoyed by the success of Strictly Come Dancing winner Rose Ayling-Ellis, the show’s first ever deaf contestant, who is calling on MPs to back the Bill.
BA (Hons) Politics and Sociology Alessandro Dematteis said: “It’s a really good cause and though recognising BSL in law seems like an obvious thing to do it’ll still be difficult to get through parliament. I’ve learnt a lot about the parliamentary process and just how much scrutiny each Bill goes through and the length of time it can take for them to get passed.”
The overall aim is to improve access by providing more services in BSL, expand BSL education in schools, and generally make BSL more common in society as a whole so that deaf people can always play a full role in society.
BA (Hons) Politics and Sociology Student Thomas Jones said: “It was a fantastic extracurricular activity and it’s good to know our work will have real world impact for the deaf community.”
The Bill will receive a committee stage and third reading later in the year, on the way to becoming law.