Shortly before Christmas, Joel James MS met with the British Deaf Association at the Welsh Parliament to discuss the BSL Wales Bill.
BSL is the first or preferred language of the Deaf community in the UK, with its own unique linguistic identity and rich cultural and historical heritage.
Having been recognised as a language of Wales in 2004, the purpose of the BSL Wales Bill is to make provisions to promote and facilitate the use of BSL and its tactile forms in Wales; improve access to education, health and public services in BSL and, support the removal of barriers that exist for deaf people and their families in education, health, public services, support services and in the workplace.
Speaking about the meeting, Joel James MS said:
It was brilliant to meet with the British Deaf Association at the Welsh Parliament’s Y Farchnad recently.
They’re raising the importance of the BSL Wales Bill, something that I wholeheartedly support and am keen to see introduced.
As someone who wears hearing aids and often has to lip read, I can fully appreciate the difficulties the deaf community face daily when services are not equal- we need to urgently improve the quality of life of deaf individuals across Wales and fight for much needed change.
