BSL Bill
Thousands of Deaf people travelled to Trafalgar Square on Friday March 18th to support the third reading of the BSL Bill. Staff and trustees from CfD were there to celebrate this important day.
Justin Smith, the CfD CEO said: “I’m proud that the Centre for Deaf was present to support the BSL Rally. It was inspiring to see all the speeches from Deaf role models on the stage as thousands of people from across the country got together at Trafalgar Square to support the Bill. The passing of the third reading of the BSL Bill is a fantastic achievement and a BSL Act will be forthcoming”.
“CfD supports the BSL Bill because it will lead to British Sign Language being recognised and accepted as a language in its own right and will ensure that this is upheld legally. The BSL Act will help to improve accessibility for BSL users, and this will mean more availability of information presented in BSL”.
Gill Behenna, one of the CfD trustees who was at the Rally said: “It was marvellous to be in Trafalgar Square for this historic occasion, but we know there is a lot of work ahead to make sure the aspirations of the BSL Act become reality here in Bristol.”
Staff and trustees at CfD are delighted that the BSL Bill passed its third reading in the House of Commons. The Bill now goes to the House of Lords and will then become law. A BSL Act will give full legal status to BSL. Government Departments and public bodies will have to provide better access to information for Deaf people. This will be a huge step forward in giving Deaf people equality.
