Highland Integrated British Sign Language Plan 2024-2030

9th September 2024

Communities and Place Committee met on Thursday 5 Sept 2024 and agreed to the Highland British Sign Language (BSL) Plan 2024-2030.

"Communities and Place Committee Chair, Cllr Graham MacKenzie said: "The Highland BSL Plan agreed today is a six year plan that aims to continue to improve the accessibility of BSL across Highland by working collaboratively with NHS Highland, reflecting on the goals of the BSL National Plan and by engaging with the Deaf community on what is important to them. There have been some significant achievements already, for example the national recognition of 1+2 BSL pack and I am delighted to see new developments, such as the new accessibility pages on the Council's website to promote the involvement of BSL users in elections.

"We have around 93 people within Highland that indicated via the most recent Census data that their main language was sign language and not English, and it is imperative that we continue to raise awareness of BSL courses, celebrate the BSL Culture across Highland and improve the online information relating to BSL for the Highland community.

"This is a fluid and live plan that will evolve over the six year cycle, and we look forward to the partnership approach to delivering the best outcomes for our Deaf community and will provide regular updates to future Committees on the objectives set out in the 2024-2030 BSL Plan."

The Highland BSL Local Plan for 2024-2030 covers 8 thematic areas and for each describes the ongoing commitments and actions for The Highland Council and NHS Highland:

BSL Accessibility
Children, Young People and their Families
Access to Employment
Health and Wellbeing
BSL Data
Celebrating BSL Culture
Access to Services
Democratic Participation

There are number of actions and commitments are shared and will be delivered either by both organisations independently or by working together, depending upon the action.

The Highland British Sign Language Plan 2024-2030 can be accessed at Item 11 HERE