Senedd backs British sign language bill

Published

2 years ago

June 20, 2024

THE SENEDD backed plans to introduce a bill to encourage the use of British sign language and improve access to public services for deaf people.

Mark Isherwood said his proposed British sign language (BSL) legislation would give deaf people a real voice in the design and delivery of services.

He told the Senedd that if the bill fails to become law, Wales will be the only part of the UK that is not covered by a specific BSL law.

The North Wales MS welcomed the UK’s 2022 British Sign Language Act but pointed out that the reporting and guidance duties do not apply to Wales.

Mr Isherwood, who won a ballot among MSs to propose the bill, said: “Existing legislation does not meet the needs of the deaf community and BSL signers.”

The Conservative explained the bill would establish a BSL commissioner, with the same powers as the Welsh language commissioner.

“This would show a significant message of support to the BSL signing community,” he said.

Mr Isherwood told the chamber the bill would place a duty on the Welsh Government to publish an annual report on progress in promoting and facilitating the use of BSL.

He quoted the British Deaf Association: “BSL is not just a language – it is also a gateway to learning and the means whereby deaf people survive and flourish in a hearing world.”

Mr Isherwood estimated the annual cost of the bill at about £800,000 for the first five years, stressing that early intervention and prevention will reduce cost pressures on other services.

Lesley Griffiths suggested the Welsh Government will not support the opposition bill as Mr Isherwood attempts to navigate the Senedd’s legislative process.

Wales’ social justice secretary said: “While I fully appreciate the intention behind this bill, I do not think it is needed. We can – and have – made significant progress without a bill.”

Ms Grifiths pointed out that the Welsh Government did not need a bill to include BSL in Wales’ new curriculum or to ensure BSL/English interpreters at press conferences.

She said: “We can, and we will, use policy levers to create effective change and equality,” adding that Welsh ministers recognised BSL as a language of Wales in 2004.

Ms Griffiths raised the role of the disability rights taskforce which was set up following a report, entitled Locked out, about the impact of the pandemic on disabled people.

Plaid Cymru’s Sioned Williams said Wales cannot rely on the goodwill of organisations alone, warning the lack of standards on BSL is a “clear gap in our legislative framework”.

She said: “More widely, this is an example of the wide-ranging social barriers that face the deaf community in Wales, which become clear, very often, very early on in their lives.”

The shadow social justice secretary raised alarm about the lack of any accredited auditory verbal therapists, who provide specialist early intervention for deaf children.

Ms Williams said deaf learners are 26% less likely to gain GCSE grades A* to C in English, Welsh and maths, compared with their hearing contemporaries.

She raised concerns about unequal access to health care, warning: “This puts their health at risk, undermines their human rights and dignity, and is a clear example of inequality.”

Sam Rowlands paid tribute to Mr Isherwood, who chairs cross-party groups on disability, deaf issues and autism, for his campaigning during two decades as a Senedd member.

The shadow health secretary argued his Conservative colleague’s bill has the potential to revolutionise the lives of deaf people in Wales.

Mr Rowlands told the chamber his mum has been learning British sign language in Wrexham but she has reached a point where more advanced courses are not available.

The North Wales MS said: “It’s struck me and my family that there’s a chance to consider how we include deaf people and how we can play our part in learning BSL….

“It’s simply not right or fair that deaf people are excluded from too many parts of life because of their disability.”

Peredur Owen Griffiths raised Welsh Women’s Aid’s concerns that a lack of BSL support prevents women at risk of, or experiencing, domestic abuse from seeking help.

The Plaid Cymru MS for South Wales East warned that around 22 deaf women are at risk every day but they continue to face significant barriers when accessing support.

He said: “These communication barriers cause additional obstacles for survivors wanting to access help and support, making it more difficult for them to leave perpetrators.”

He backed a reporting requirement, saying: “What gets measured gets done, so putting a duty on reporting is so important in creating a culture where use of BSL is embedded.”

In closing, Mr Owen Griffiths asked: “Parity between Welsh and English is enshrined in law, so why not add a third Welsh language, BSL?”

Natasha Asghar, who also represents South Wales East, said she attended a basic BSL course in Newport, “which was a hugely exciting as well as beneficial experience”.

She warned: “Many deaf BSL signers have a lower reading age than the general population as a result of linguistic exclusion. This in turn can lead to social exclusion.”

Replying to the debate, Mr Isherwood said it would be a matter of shame and a gross betrayal if Wales was the only part of the UK not covered by specific BSL legislation.

Members voted 24-16 to allow Mr Isherwood to introduce the bill, with three Labour backbenchers – Alun Davies, Rhianon Passmore and Buffy Williams – abstaining.

Call to expand nature retreat with more lodges, a sauna and padel courts

Published

55 minutes ago

July 10, 2026

Bruce Sinclair - Local Democracy Reporter

A CALL to extend a Pembrokeshire “boutique nature retreat destination” previously featured in the Sunday Times with further holiday cabins, a mobile sauna and padel courts has been lodged with county planners.

In an application submitted to Pembrokeshire County Council, Paul Cleaver of Wilder Retreats, through agent Hayston Developments & Planning Ltd, seeks permission for two holiday cabins, a mobile sauna and the conversion and extension of an existing building to padel courts and changing rooms to form phase 2 of the existing Wilder Retreats holiday cabins and complex, on land at the former agricultural/ forestry works depot, Solbury Road, Tiers Cross.

Padel is a racquet sport that combines elements of tennis and squash.

A supporting statement said of Wilder Retreats, an ecotourism destination located on 20 acres of rewilded land: “Since opening, the business has established itself as one of Wales’ leading boutique nature retreat destinations — demonstrating how sensitive, high-quality tourism development can work in harmony with landscape, ecology and local economy.

“The business has attracted national press coverage from publications including the Sunday Times and Coast Magazine.”

It said the existing business “was conceived from the outset as an ecotourism model — one that funds and enables genuine environmental restoration through sustainable commercial activity, working towards ecological targets set by Kite Ecology including native woodland planting, wildflower meadow creation and habitat corridor development”.

The Phase 2 developments proposed are: two additional A-frame cabins in addition to the existing six; Wilder Woodland Sauna, a commercial woodland sauna; and Wilder Padel Club, two covered LTA (Lawn Tennis Association) compliant padel courts with associated clubhouse facilities, that re-uses a redundant shed and yard in the client’s ownership.

The two additional A-frame cabins will be operated by Wilder Retreats Ltd as an extension of the existing accommodation business. Wilder Woodland Sauna and Wilder Padel Club will each operate as independent businesses under separate limited companies.

“Together, the three proposals reinforce one another: the cabins bring more guests to the site; the sauna and padel give those guests — and local residents — more reasons to visit and to stay longer,” the statement says, adding: “All three operate independently but collectively strengthen the economic, social and environmental case for this site as a model of sustainable rural tourism.”

The site was previously lawfully occupied by the applicant’s tree works consultancy and land management business until this subsequently relocated a few years ago.

Although the site has since been occupied by a motorcycle business, that business has been given notice to vacate but will trade until early 2027.

The application proposal is supported by a letter from Tennis Wales, the national governing body for Padel, one of the fastest growing sports in the country, which fully supports the principle of creating two padel courts, saying: “Creating more Padel courts, which can be used throughout the year, is critical to sustaining this growth.

“These new facilities will enable more adults and juniors to enjoy, compete and experience the game of Padel in line with Tennis Wales Vision and Mission which is to see ‘Padel opened up’.”

The application will be considered by county planners at a later date.

Crime

UK grooming gang inquiry failing to look at Wales, Senedd told

Published

6 hours ago

July 10, 2026

Ella Groves, ICNN Senedd Reporter

AN INDEPENDENT inquiry into grooming gangs across England and Wales has failed to identify a single location in Wales for local investigation, the Senedd has been told.

Welsh Conservative leader Darren Millar raised the issue in the Siambr on Wednesday July 8, warning that known victims of child sexual exploitation in Wales are being overlooked.

Mr Millar said independent investigations had already cited Swansea, Rhyl and parts of mid Wales as areas where grooming gangs operate, with victims being trafficked to other parts of the UK.

Addressing Deputy First Minister Sioned Williams, Mr Millar asked for assurances that she would commit to a standalone, Wales-wide inquiry if the current cross-border investigation continues to bypass Welsh locations.

Ms Williams, who also serves as social justice and equality minister, said the Welsh Government had consulted on the terms of reference to ensure the “unique Welsh context” is captured.

Sioned Williams, Deputy First Minister and minister for social justice and equality

She confirmed that Welsh officials meet monthly with the inquiry team and have been assured that Welsh survivors will be able to contribute fully.

Ms Williams added that her government would take further action if it believes it is required.

The debate followed figures highlighted in the Senedd by Plaid Cymru’s Beca Brown on Wednesday July 2, showing an estimated 25,000 children and young people are sexually abused in Wales every year.

Labour’s spokesperson for equalities, Shav Taj, called for ring-fenced funding to train teachers to identify sophisticated online AI deepfake networks and “sextortion” rings.

Labour’s spokesperson for employment, equalities, and economic transformation, Shav Taj

Ms Taj warned that relying on a central website without specific funding was a “passive strategy” for exhausted school staff.

Ms Williams said the government’s ten-year strategy focuses on prevention, effective protection, and supporting affected families alongside the NSPCC and the Centre of Expertise on Child Sexual Abuse.

Politics

‘Expert group’ set up as government presses ahead with child payment plans

Published

6 hours ago

July 10, 2026

Ella Groves, ICNN Senedd Reporter

AN “EXPERT GROUP” has been set up as the Welsh Government looks to pilot its proposed child payment.

Wales’ Deputy First Minister faced questions on Cynnal – a Plaid Cymru manifesto pledge to deliver a £10 payment to to low income households.

Sioned Williams said the group will support the “design, delivery, monitoring, and evaluation of the Cynnal pilot” – which could benefit up to 15,000 children aged six and below.

Answering a question from Plaid Cymru colleague Elyn Stephens, Ms Williams the group brings together “expertise from across the sector” to ensure the scheme is “evidence-led, is robustly evaluated, and is grounded in the realities of families’ lives.”

Drawing on experiences from her own constituency of Afan Ogwr Rhondda, Ms Stephens noted the “real difference” the Cynnal payment could make to families facing the “sharpest end of child poverty”.

However, she said potential recipients need clarity that the support will reach them directly.

She said: “We know there are clear precedents for additional payments being disregarded within the benefits system, including the Scottish child payment and local welfare provision.

“But the Welsh NHS and social care bonus show that without Department for Work and Pensions protection, the value of a government payment can be reduced through the Universal Credit system as it’s then classed as earnings.”

Ms Stephens said the Cynnal payment needs to be “simple to access and protected in full”.

Ms Williams confirmed negotiations have begun with the UK Government to look at the links between benefits, taxation, and the Cynnal payment.

She said: “I’ve already started discussing this with Andrew Western MP, the minister for transformation, and further meetings are in the diary.”

Reform’s Gareth Thomas asked Ms Williams how many families in his constituency of Pen-y-Bont Bro Morgannwg are expected to benefit from the payment, and whether his area will be included in the original rollout.

He also pushed for the Welsh Government to publish local figures so MSs can assess “whether Cynnal is delivering real benefits for families and value for public money”.

In response, Ms Williams said: “The task of the expert group will be to ensure that we plan this payment carefully. It is a pilot programme, so it won’t reach every family in need in Wales, because that’s the nature of a pilot, clearly.”

She continued: “We need to think how we can assess how this child payment can support families in the best way possible, and then build those strong foundations of robust evidence in order to steer future decisions.”

Labour’s Jane Bryant emphasised the importance of working with both the UK Government and local authorities in Wales on the scheme’s rollout.

Casnewydd Islwyn's Labour MS Jayne Bryant — Casnewydd Islwyn’s Labour MS Jayne Bryant

She asked when the child payments will start, and urged the minister to ensure it will not affect families’ eligibility for other financial support.

On the involvement of local authorities, Ms Williams said: “We know we have key partners in this work as regards delivery and interaction with other Welsh benefits.

“So that is, again, what will be completely under the consideration of the expert steering group which will be meeting next week.”