This Government are committed to ensuring that our communications are accessible and inclusive, and to reducing the barriers deaf people face in their everyday lives. The British Sign Language Act 2022 supports this by creating a greater recognition and understanding of BSL, and requires the Government to report on what Departments listed in the Act have done to promote or facilitate the use of BSL in their communications with the public.
The first report, published in July 2023 under the previous Administration, set out a baseline of activity delivered by Government Departments, highlighting the areas of Government communication that required further improvement. The second report, delayed due to the UK general election, was published in December 2024 and showed that there had been an increase in the use of BSL compared with the first report.
Although the BSL Act requires a report to be published every three years, this Government are committed to increased reporting frequency to ensure we drive progress. The third BSL report, covering the period from 1 May 2024 to 30 April 2025, has now been published. A copy of the third report will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses and published on
www.gov.uk.This third report demonstrates an increase in the usage of BSL by Government Departments in public-facing communications since reporting started in 2023. The overall number of new BSL communications produced by Government Departments has not increased since the last reporting period—it was 176 in the second reporting period, falling to 140 in this reporting period—due to a pause in Government activity through the pre-election period in 2024. This still represents an overall increase since the first reporting period, when the overall number was 76. In addition, although they are not counted in the data for the third reporting period, it is important to note that some of the content and publications produced in earlier reporting periods remain valid and are continuing to provide up-to-date information to BSL users. It is also encouraging to see that some Departments have published BSL activity for the first time. However, it is clear that there is still more that can be done.
This year, each ministerial Department has been asked to produce a five-year BSL plan, setting out how it plans to improve the use of BSL within its Department. For many, this includes increasing awareness of BSL across the Department. These plans are published by each Department alongside the third report.
This Government want to ensure that disabled people’s views and voices are at the heart of all we do. Government communications being accessible to deaf and disabled people is essential in supporting us to achieve this goal.
This Government are committed to going further. We will be working with the BSL Advisory Board, with deaf people and their representative organisations, and with Ministers across Government, including our lead Ministers for disability, to continue to make tangible improvements for the deaf community.
We will continue to publish a report on an annual basis up to 2027, going further than the frequency required by the Act. The next report will be published in July 2026.
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