RECOGNITION OF BRITISH SIGN LANGUAGE

Early day motion 850, tabled 20 July 1999 by Lord Bruce of Bennachie (Liberal Democrat). Signed by 100 members.

That this House congratulates the Federation of Deaf People on their well organised march through London in support of their campaign for British Sign Language (BSL) as an official language of the United Kingdom; and calls on the Government to respond positively and promptly to the petition presented by the Federation to No. 10 Downing Street and follow the example of EU countries like Sweden and Finland in recognising BSL as a language and providing support for additional interpreters to facilitate better access by deaf people to essential services such as medical, legal, social and professional services.

Signatures by party: Labour 51, Liberal Democrat 35, Conservative 7, Labour/Co-operative 3, Plaid Cymru 1, Scottish National Party 1, UUP 1, Unknown 1.