PROVISION OF SIGN LANGUAGE CLASSES FOR PARENTS OF DEAF CHILDREN

Early day motion 1358, tabled 20 May 1998 by Tim Loughton (Conservative). Signed by 78 members.

That this House congratulates the National Deaf Children's Society on its recent parliamentary reception which drew attention to the needs of deaf children and their families; notes the unique difficulties associated with deafness in the family where 90 per cent of deaf children are born to hearing parents and where those parents themselves may often struggle to communicate with their own children; further notes that provision of British Sign Language classes for parents nationwide is patchy and in some areas non-existent, with no clear direction for education and social services departments; and calls upon the Government to address this issue at the earliest opportunity, providing a national directive to tackle the problem enabling the parents of deaf children who need it to attend sign language classes which will enable them to communicate with their children.

Signatures by party: Labour 33, Conservative 25, Liberal Democrat 13, Labour/Co-operative 3, UUP 2, Plaid Cymru 1, Scottish National Party 1.