The BSL Wales Consortium brings together deaf BSL signers and organisations supporting deaf people and BSL signers in Wales. We campaign for a BSL (Wales) Act and for governance arrangements that deliver real, long-term change for BSL signers across Wales.
What we are calling for
We believe a BSL (Wales) Act is needed to provide the legal structure and guidance to address the barriers BSL signers face in everyday life, including participating fully in society and using BSL across public services.
Legislation is essential to move beyond voluntary, inconsistent, and policy-led approaches, and to place clear duties on public bodies in Wales.
Membership
The Consortium is chaired by Dr Rob Wilks and Alison Bryan, both deaf BSL signers and co-leads of the BSL (Wales) Act Now Campaign.
Membership brings together individual deaf BSL signers and organisations representing the deaf community in Wales, including:
- British Deaf Association
- Action Deafness Cymru (formerly Wales Council for Deaf People)
- Centre for Sign Sight and Sound
- Royal National Institute for Deaf People
- National Deaf Children’s Society
- Talking Hands Deaf Children, Young People and Family Service
and professional bodies including:
- Association of British Sign Language Teachers and Assessors
- Signature
- National Registers of Communication Professionals working with Deaf and Deafblind People
- Association of Sign Language Interpreters
- Visual Language Professionals
