Latest news with #Isherwood
Western Telegraph
2 days ago
- Politics
- Western Telegraph
Senedd cross-party support for backbench sign language bill
Mark Isherwood formally introduced his British Sign Language (BSL) bill in the Senedd on July 16, nearly seven years after calls were first made for legislation in Wales. Mr Isherwood, a disability rights campaigner for decades, explained the bill would introduce legal requirements to promote and facilitate the use of BSL in Wales. He warned: 'Too often, deaf people are unable to access vital public services because they cannot communicate in their first language. 'This denies them their rights and places them at a significant disadvantage – whether in health care, education, employment, transport or otherwise." He told the Senedd: 'BSL plays a crucial role in enabling communication and promoting inclusivity in everyday life – for many deaf individuals, BSL is their primary language. 'Deaf BSL signers in Wales cannot access services in their first language and this is unacceptable. As one individual undergoing major surgery shared 'throughout the whole time, I did not understand anything'.' He added: 'If passed, therefore, this will be the most progressive BSL law in the UK.' Jane Hutt welcomed and supported the bill on behalf of the Welsh Government, which recognised BSL as a language more than 20 years ago in 2004. Wales' social justice secretary, who has worked with Mr Isherwood on developing the proposed legislation, described the bill as a step towards lasting change. The backbench bill would be the first passed by the Senedd in a decade, with bills on mental health, food, education, autism and older people's rights rejected or withdrawn in that time. Concerns have been raised about the Senedd's capacity for legislation brought forward by backbench members who are not a part of the Welsh Government. The BSL bill, as an example, was accompanied by a 113-page explanation and impact assessment. If passed, it would be a first since Liberal Democrat Kirsty Williams introduced a bill on safe nurse staffing levels in 2014, which became law two years later. Labour's Jenny Rathbone chairs the Senedd's equality committee, which she said had 'cleared the decks' to focus on seeing the BSL bill become an Act by May 2026.
Cambrian News
2 days ago
- Politics
- Cambrian News
Cross-party support for backbench sign language bill
Mr Isherwood said the bill will ensure policymakers and service providers consider the needs of deaf BSL signers, and the barriers they face, when designing and delivering services.
South Wales Guardian
3 days ago
- Politics
- South Wales Guardian
Senedd cross-party support for backbench sign language bill
Mark Isherwood formally introduced his British Sign Language (BSL) bill in the Senedd on July 16, nearly seven years after calls were first made for legislation in Wales. Mr Isherwood, a disability rights campaigner for decades, explained the bill would introduce legal requirements to promote and facilitate the use of BSL in Wales. He warned: 'Too often, deaf people are unable to access vital public services because they cannot communicate in their first language. 'This denies them their rights and places them at a significant disadvantage – whether in health care, education, employment, transport or otherwise." He told the Senedd: 'BSL plays a crucial role in enabling communication and promoting inclusivity in everyday life – for many deaf individuals, BSL is their primary language. 'Deaf BSL signers in Wales cannot access services in their first language and this is unacceptable. As one individual undergoing major surgery shared 'throughout the whole time, I did not understand anything'.' He added: 'If passed, therefore, this will be the most progressive BSL law in the UK.' Jane Hutt welcomed and supported the bill on behalf of the Welsh Government, which recognised BSL as a language more than 20 years ago in 2004. Wales' social justice secretary, who has worked with Mr Isherwood on developing the proposed legislation, described the bill as a step towards lasting change. The backbench bill would be the first passed by the Senedd in a decade, with bills on mental health, food, education, autism and older people's rights rejected or withdrawn in that time. Concerns have been raised about the Senedd's capacity for legislation brought forward by backbench members who are not a part of the Welsh Government. The BSL bill, as an example, was accompanied by a 113-page explanation and impact assessment. If passed, it would be a first since Liberal Democrat Kirsty Williams introduced a bill on safe nurse staffing levels in 2014, which became law two years later. Labour's Jenny Rathbone chairs the Senedd's equality committee, which she said had 'cleared the decks' to focus on seeing the BSL bill become an Act by May 2026.
South Wales Argus
3 days ago
- Politics
- South Wales Argus
Senedd cross-party support for backbench sign language bill
Mark Isherwood formally introduced his British Sign Language (BSL) bill in the Senedd on July 16, nearly seven years after calls were first made for legislation in Wales. Mr Isherwood, a disability rights campaigner for decades, explained the bill would introduce legal requirements to promote and facilitate the use of BSL in Wales. He warned: 'Too often, deaf people are unable to access vital public services because they cannot communicate in their first language. 'This denies them their rights and places them at a significant disadvantage – whether in health care, education, employment, transport or otherwise." He told the Senedd: 'BSL plays a crucial role in enabling communication and promoting inclusivity in everyday life – for many deaf individuals, BSL is their primary language. 'Deaf BSL signers in Wales cannot access services in their first language and this is unacceptable. As one individual undergoing major surgery shared 'throughout the whole time, I did not understand anything'.' He added: 'If passed, therefore, this will be the most progressive BSL law in the UK.' Jane Hutt welcomed and supported the bill on behalf of the Welsh Government, which recognised BSL as a language more than 20 years ago in 2004. Wales' social justice secretary, who has worked with Mr Isherwood on developing the proposed legislation, described the bill as a step towards lasting change. The backbench bill would be the first passed by the Senedd in a decade, with bills on mental health, food, education, autism and older people's rights rejected or withdrawn in that time. Concerns have been raised about the Senedd's capacity for legislation brought forward by backbench members who are not a part of the Welsh Government. The BSL bill, as an example, was accompanied by a 113-page explanation and impact assessment. If passed, it would be a first since Liberal Democrat Kirsty Williams introduced a bill on safe nurse staffing levels in 2014, which became law two years later. Labour's Jenny Rathbone chairs the Senedd's equality committee, which she said had 'cleared the decks' to focus on seeing the BSL bill become an Act by May 2026.
Pembrokeshire Herald
09-06-2025
- Politics
- Pembrokeshire Herald
Crowds turn out in force to celebrate Milford Haven's 235th birthday
CAMPAIGNERS warned it will be 'impossible' to hold the Welsh Government to account on progress against its disabled people's rights plan due to a lack of concrete targets. Mark Isherwood, who chairs the Senedd's cross-party group on disability, raised concerns that many of the long-term objectives in the draft ten-year plan lack firm commitments. He said Natasha Hirst, who was part of ministers' disability rights taskforce, pointed to a lack of funding to implement the plan as well as a scarcity of clear, robust targets. Mr Isherwood also quoted Joe Powell, chief executive of All Wales People First, who said: 'For this plan to succeed we need the appropriate investment into the infrastructure and services to make this aspiration a reality. 'We need clear targets about how we are going to achieve this. Without these, it is very difficult to see how the plan will make a difference to disabled people in Wales.' The Conservative told the Senedd: 'Damian Bridgeman, who chaired the disability rights taskforce's housing and community working group, said the draft document was a smokescreen rather than a plan. 'He pointed to the absence of new money and a mechanism to track delivery of the action plan further, adding that, 'disabled people have been reviewed to death, what we need is action – and there's none of that here'.' He said Mr Bridgeman described the plan as a 'collection of vague intentions dressed up as progress', with 'no targets, no teeth and no real-world accountability'. Mr Isherwood, who has campaigned on disability rights for decades, warned the plan lacks a commitment to enshrine the UN convention on the rights of disabled people into Welsh law. The north Walian also warned the UK Government's plans to cut benefits risk further disabling people in Wales by compounding poverty and exclusion. During a statement on June 3, Jane Hutt described the plan as a landmark moment in the Welsh Government's commitment to ensuring an inclusive and accessible society for all. Wales' social justice secretary said: 'This plan is a ten-year blueprint for progress, designed to ensure its outcomes are realised through actions taken across government.' Ms Hutt cautioned that UK Government welfare reforms risk overlooking the circumstances and needs of disabled people, and more so in Wales than some other parts of the UK. Jane Hutt, secretary for social justice, trefnydd and chief whip She said the plan seeks to position Wales as a world leader in the social model of disability, which says people are disabled by barriers in society – not by their impairment or condition. Ms Hutt urged organisations and disabled people to have their say by responding to a consultation on the draft plan, which runs until August 7. Sioned Williams warned the plan has been a 'long time coming', with the taskforce set up after a 2021 report, entitled Locked out, into the impact of the pandemic on disabled people. Ms Williams told the Senedd: 'We must never forget that disabled people comprised 60% of deaths from Covid-19 in Wales, and many of those deaths were preventable and rooted in socioeconomic inequality.' Plaid Cymru's shadow social justice minister, Sioned Williams The Plaid Cymru politician stressed the importance of legally enforceable rights – 'rights that can literally be the difference between life and death'. Ms Williams warned planned welfare cuts cast a long, dark shadow over the plan, saying: 'The removal of this vital support doesn't simply reduce income, it rips away the safety net that many disabled people rely on to live with dignity.' She called for assurances that disabled and neurodivergent people will no longer be detained in secure hospitals in Wales, as highlighted by the Stolen Lives campaign. Jenny Rathbone supported efforts to embed the social model of disability because 'it is society that needs to change, not the individual who happens to have an impairment'. But she recognised that a huge amount of work still needs to be done. Julie Morgan, a fellow Labour backbencher, said the plan clearly shows the Welsh Government's commitment to making Wales an open, inclusive and accessible place. But Conservative Laura Anne Jones warned the plan 'falls short in many critical areas', with disabled people still facing systemic barriers to work, transport and access to services. South Wales East MS Laura Anne Jones She said: 'With rising living costs and sweeping cuts to support services alongside welfare, this plan feels more like a statement of intent than a blueprint for real action.'
