May I thank Mark Isherwood for introducing this Bill? I'm pleased to have the opportunity to discuss the important issues that he raises in the Senedd, because over the past few years, there's been increasing and long-awaited recognition of the important part that British Sign Language has to play in our society, alongside more specific efforts to promote the language and make it more visible in public life.

The fact that the Welsh Government’s daily briefing sessions on COVID were always signed was a positive step forward in this regard, and, as a party, we have consistently ensured that all of our major public activities, including our conferences and manifesto announcements and so on, make appropriate provision to meet the needs of BSL signers.

But we cannot be reliant on the goodwill alone of organisations on this matter, and the explanatory memorandum related to this proposed Bill is right to note the lack of statutory standards regarding BSL as a clear gap in our current legislative framework. More widely, this is an example, of course, of the wide-ranging social barriers that face the deaf community in Wales, which become clear, very often, very early on in their lives.

For example, I am particularly concerned about the fact that Wales has no accredited auditory verbal therapists, who provide specialist early intervention for deaf infants and children, to ensure that they can achieve the same educational outcomes as their hearing contemporaries.

The implications of this lack of support are clear. As mentioned in the explanatory memorandum, deaf learners are 26 per cent less likely to attain GCSE grades A* to C in the core subjects, namely English or Welsh and mathematics, than their hearing contemporaries. Analysis by Auditory Verbal UK has shown that investing as little as £800,000 over the next 10 years would be enough to ensure that every deaf child in Wales has the opportunity to access auditory verbal therapy, which would, in turn, lead to approximately £7 million of economic benefits, by improving quality of life and employment prospects, and by lowering education costs, and, of course, preventing injuries. Does the Member agree with me, therefore, that the issue of auditory verbal therapy should be a specific focus for the work of the proposed BSL commissioner?

I would also welcome the Member’s views on whether the BSL commissioner’s remit should include the ability to set and recommend targets for the Welsh Government and a timetable for closing the attainment gap that I mentioned earlier between deaf and hearing children. Plaid Cymru very much welcomes the way that the proposed Bill would place a duty on the Welsh Government to engage actively with the deaf community in a comprehensive process of co-production on the policies and services upon which they depend, by establishing a BSL advisory group to empower the deaf community across Wales.

The RNID has emphasised that one of the main concerns expressed by the deaf community is the failure to provide access to health and social care services. I myself have received casework where a deaf constituent had been unable to get an appointment with a doctor, while another had no way to communicate with staff while receiving treatment in hospital. This puts their health at risk, undermines their human rights and dignity and is a clear example of inequality. Do you, therefore, Mark Isherwood, agree that access to health and social care should be made a priority issue for the Government and the BSL advisory group under the Bill’s mechanisms?

Finally, does the Member also agree that the specific barriers faced by deaf people in Wales exist on a wider spectrum of social inequality that is deeply rooted in our society, and that we cannot tackle this effectively without investing appropriately and on a continuing basis in our public services? That investment could be greater if Westminster were to have a fairer system to fund Wales. 

There is clear cross-party consensus in this Senedd that much more could and should be done to cater for the needs of signers of BSL, and to strengthen the legal frameworks regarding relevant provisions in public life. Plaid Cymru is, therefore, happy to support the principles of this Bill, and we are also ready to collaborate constructively on a cross-party basis to forge ahead with the work that needs to be done to deliver those principles. Thank you.