Gloucestershire web initiative tells deaf people about emergency planning
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The 15-minute video, designed for the Internet (www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/emergencymanagement) and DVD, tells deaf British Sign Language (BSL) users how they can be better prepared in case of emergency. The EqualSign presenters are deaf native users of BSL who are experienced in presenting information to the estimated 50,000 to 75,000 deaf people in the UK whose preferred language is BSL.
'We have to make sure that everyone in the county has access to essential emergency information but we didn't have the right expertise to produce British Sign Language videos ourselves. The DVD is very professional, was excellent value for money and we hope will get important messages across to the deaf community.' commented Michael Warner of Gloucestershire County Council. 'We developed a script from our existing ‘Are You Ready to Respond' materials and gave it to EqualSign whose deaf presenter translated it into sign language – with subtitles where appropriate.'
'Public bodies are quickly grasping that video sign language translations are a simple and quick way of informing their deaf BSL audiences and meeting their responsibilities under the new disability and equality regulations,' explained Mick Canavan, Managing Director of EyeGaze. 'As a social enterprise, we aim to deliver low-cost sign language translation materials in a way that parallels the provision of leaflets translated into foreign languages – except that our output is video for the Internet, PCs and television. We are doing a very wide range of sign language translation work – from Comments and Complaints procedures for local authorities to school reports for local schools.'
'I'm sure there are many public information announcements that I miss out on but which my hearing friends have access to,' said Vivian Jones, a Gloucester teenager who is deaf and uses BSL as his preferred language. 'The EqualSign video is a terrific way for us to receive information and I think the Gloucestershire initiative is fantastic. I hope other organisations in Gloucestershire and elsewhere will make BSL clips for sign language users.'
Under recent legislation and regulation (Civil Contingencies Act 2004 and the Disability Equality Duty 2006), the duties upon public bodies to communicate effectively with deaf and disabled people have increased (see Notes to Editors below).
Public bodies' legal responsibilities
Under the Civil Contingencies Act 2004, every local authority has a duty to ‘warn and inform' its residents about emergency planning. They also have a responsibility to ensure that vulnerable groups, including deaf people, are given information in an appropriate way.
Under the Disability Equality Duty 2006, all public bodies are required to actively look at ways of ensuring that disabled people are treated equally. Information provision and communication are key to compliance with the Duty. For more details, see www.dotheduty.org
Numbers of deaf people and BSL users in the UK
There are no precise statistics on the number of deaf people in the UK. Estimates usually vary from 50,000 to 75,000.
In January 2007 in the House of Commons, the Rt Hon Malcolm Bruce MP stated that there are 200,000 people communicating in British Sign language (BSL), many of whom who use it as their first language. This figure includes hearing people who use BSL to communicate with family and friends.
Related links to this article:
Gloucestershire County Council
EqualSign
www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/emergencymanagement
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