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MSP Karen Adam questions witnesses in British Sign Language in first for Scottish Parliament





Banffshire and Buchan Coast MSP Karen Adam questioned witnesses using British Sign Language in what is believed to be a first for the Scottish Parliament.

Members of the Scottish Parliament's Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee are currently considering the Disability Commissioner (Scotland) Bill, a Member's bill introduced by MSP Jeremy Balfour to establish an independent commissioner to promote and safeguard the rights and interests of disabled people.

During the proceedings, MSP Karen Adam questioned Tomas Gerrard, a representative from Deaf Action - a deaf-led charity established in 1835 that supports and celebrates deaf people - first in British Sign Language and then in English.

MSP Karen Adam questioned witnesses using British Sign Language in what is believed to be a first for the Scottish Parliament.
MSP Karen Adam questioned witnesses using British Sign Language in what is believed to be a first for the Scottish Parliament.

While recognised as a minority language in England and Wales, British Sign Language is an official language in Scotland.

According to a recently published report by Scotland's Census 2022, 117,300 people - or 2.2 per cent of the population - can use British Sign Language in Scotland.

MSP Karen Adam, who has spoken on a number of occasions in the Scottish Parliament about her experience as a child of a deaf adult, has interacted in the Scottish Parliament through the medium of sign language on a number of occasions.

When she was first elected in 2021, Ms Adam made her solemn affirmation in British Signal Language.

During Deaf Awareness Week last year, she also asked a question to the former First Minister Humza Yousaf in British Sign Language.

During questions to the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body last week, Ms Adam asked how much of the Scottish Parliament's annual budget is allocated to the provision of services to ensure that the Parliament is accessible to those who use British Sign Language.

Responding on behalf of the SPCB, MSP Christine Grahame MSP said: "each year we spend around £90,000 to £100,000 on our services and staff to support and grow BSL inclusion."

She added: "The member might be interested to know that we interpreted or translated into BSL 12 per cent of chamber business in the first five months of this year, 15 per cent of our committee calls for views, and 20 per cent of our festival of politics events in 2023, which has risen to more than 30 per cent in the 2024 programme."

Following the meeting of the committee, MSP Karen Adam said: "I grew up using BSL to communicate with my father and throughout my life I have seen firsthand the limits our society puts on BSL users.

“I wanted to use BSL to ask my questions to our deaf witness as he deserved to have his language used while addressing him, and as a person who uses sign language, it made sense to do that. I hope to raise awareness of the necessity of inclusive language throughout our democratic institution."

Commenting, Philip Gerrard, CEO of Deaf Action, said: "BSL is at the heart of everything we do here at Deaf Action, we pride ourselves on being a deaf-led organisation with BSL being a primary form of communication for our staff members at work.

“It is only a positive that our representative got a taste of what true BSL representation looks like in Parliament.

“We look forward to the day that this inclusive communication is normalised and embedded within everyday life for all deaf people in Scotland.”


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