Debate contribution: Sign Language Bill: Second Stage

Debate contribution by Ms Sian Mulholland on 18 February 2025.

MLA: Ms Sian Mulholland
Party at the time: Alliance Party
Date: 18 February 2025
Type: Debate contribution
Business: Executive Committee Business
Heading: Sign Language Bill: Second Stage
Assembly identifier: Official Report component 4806680

Text

I thank the Minister for opening the debate in such a powerful way. There could not have been a more appropriate way to introduce the Bill to the House, so thank you very much. I also extend a huge "Thank you" to those who have joined us in the Public Gallery. I will try to speak a little more slowly than my normal breakneck speed for those who may be able to lip-read. Today, we have our first opportunity to debate how we bring about meaningful and transformational change for our deaf community. As the Alliance Party's spokesperson for children and young people, I will focus my comments on the impact that the Bill will hopefully have on children and young people. As other Members have said, the Sign Language Bill is a seminal moment, in that it gives British Sign Language and Irish Sign Language their rightful and formal place as languages. I commend the Minister and DFC officials and especially the stakeholders who have never given up, regardless of the context. Over the past couple of days, I have had the privilege of hearing directly from the National Deaf Children's Society, which has warmly welcomed the Bill and rightly so. The recognition of BSL and ISL as official languages in Northern Ireland is so significant, and I particularly welcome the commitment to ensuring that deaf children and their families can access sign language classes. I fully support the Bill's intention to ensure that deaf children and their families can enjoy full access to government and public services through sign language. The Bill must achieve access to practical support that will drive fundamental change. It is essential that the Bill and any secondary legislation ensure that access to sign language is promoted in all areas of deaf children and young people's lives. That should be reflected in the measures developed to implement the Bill, including the guidance that the Department issues. It is vital that the Bill be implemented with the necessary resourcing and accompanied by robust review and reporting arrangements that take into account the views and the lived experiences of deaf children and young people and their families. The spirit of the legislation will work only if we take into account their lived experience at every opportunity. One of the most important aspects of the Bill is that it forces us to think differently. Too often, we approach support for deaf children as though their needs begin and end with specific Departments, agencies or organisations. A child's life does not fit into neat compartments. A child is not just a pupil in a school or a service user in a healthcare setting. A child is part of a family, part of a community and part of wider society. Although I recognise the progress that the Bill represents, I hope that we can carefully consider the range of prescribed organisations that fall within the Bill's scope that will be defined in regulations. For example, will all school types and all preschool settings, regardless of their status or governance arrangements, be included? The Bill presents an opportunity to extend the principles far beyond education, including full inclusion for deaf children in areas such as play, leisure and recreation. What organisations will be included? That is why the Bill must be implemented in a way that reflects the full breadth of a child's experience. Its intention to recognise and promote sign language, ensuring that deaf children and the adults who care for them have access to sign language in their everyday lives and supporting the development of deaf culture, marks such a positive step forward. We need to embed across multiple sectors the early childhood and childcare strategies to ensure that all preschools — public, private and voluntary — are fully accessible and able to meet the needs of deaf children and their families. For primary and secondary education, we need to equip all schools, regardless of their governance, to meet the needs of deaf pupils. For further and higher education, we need to provide the right support so that young people can transition seamlessly from school to college, university or apprenticeship. The Bill looks at a child as being someone up to the age of 19. With the Children's Services Co-operation Act 2015, for example, if there are mitigating circumstances, we can extend the age of a child. Would that be appropriate in this circumstance so that there is no cliff edge where a child has to transition to adult services whilst trying to engage, for example, in tertiary education? Are we able to ensure inclusive spaces in youth services, sports organisations and faith-based groups, where deaf children and young people can participate fully in social and recreational activities? The Bill is an opportunity to embed real inclusion for young people across all aspects of life. That will happen only if a wide range of organisations are included in the regulations and they all recognise their roles in implementing the Bill, not as a tick-box exercise but as a fundamental shift in practice, which is what the Bill has to signal. Early intervention is key. Deaf children need access to a language-rich environment from the start, whether that is BSL or ISL, spoken language or a combination. Families must be able to make informed choices at birth about their communication, free from bias and with the right information and support. That includes ensuring high-quality audiology services so that no family is left waiting for a diagnosis; providing sensory teachers to work with children from the point of identification and help families to navigate communication choices in a way that suits them; and offering free sign language classes to families, as set out in clause 2(2)(b), so that parents, siblings, grandparents and carers can develop the skills to communicate from the beginning. Early intervention is not about just language acquisition, and I know that it does not fall just on your Department, Minister. It is a cross-departmental issue, which is why the Bill is so important. It is about mental health, emotional development, education and skills development and fulfilling potential. We know that deaf children are twice as likely to experience mental health concerns as their hearing peers. The earlier we get things right, the more we can reduce those lifelong inequalities, and that is my hope for the Bill. The Bill must be recognised beyond your Department, Minister. The Department of Health, for instance, must ensure that its family and parenting support strategy fully accounts for the needs of deaf children. Families should not have to fight to be heard, if you will excuse the pun, across different government strategies. The Bill must ensure that all Departments work towards the same goal. We cannot allow the Bill to be passed only to see slow and fragmented implementation. Clause 9 requires a five-yearly report. Minister, will you give us a bit of an understanding of why five years was chosen? Is five years too long? A shorter reporting term, particularly at the beginning of the roll-out of the legislation, could be really useful. The Bill has the potential to be truly transformative. However, its success will be defined by how it is implemented. I want to make sure that, regardless of whether it is a deaf child in a rural primary school, a deaf young person entering further education or a family navigating the early years of their deaf child's development, we see a difference in their daily lives.

1,249 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

Awaiting analysis

This record has not been analysed yet. It is not counted in any total until it has been assessed.

Disagree with this assessment?

Classifications can be challenged. A person reviews every challenge, and any change is recorded publicly above with its reason.

Challenge this classification