Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government understands the importance of British Sign Language (BSL) to the deaf community in Scotland, and formally recognised BSL as a language on 5 March 2011.

The Scottish Government is represented on the British Sign Language and Linguistic Access Working Group and works in partnership with a number of organisations in the deaf sector.

The Scottish Government previously provided significant funding to the Building Bridges Project, a programme to deliver a long-term strategy to improve linguistic access for Deaf people and increase access to services through registered interpreters, and has provided funding for three BSL projects in 2010-11.

The Scottish Government also funded the piloting of seven sensory impairment "one-stop shop" services. These shops offer early diagnosis, support and advice, which include support and advice on British Sign Language. Given the success of these shops, the Government is committed to a programme of roll out of this model in 2011.

The Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) currently has a suite of standalone National Qualifications Units in learning British Sign Language at Scottish Credit Qualifications Framework level 3 (Access 3), 4 (Intermediate 4), 5 (Intermediate 2) and 6 (Higher). These will continue to be available under Curriculum for Excellence.

The SQA is also developing a Professional Development Award BSL Studies as part of the initiative to improve linguistic access through support from the Scottish Government’s Equality Unit. This work is being undertaken to address the shortage of BSL/English interpreters, and will result in a qualification that will develop high level BSL skills and provide a professional pathway for BSL tutors to deliver training at levels 3 and 4.