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INTRODUCTION TO BSL TRANSLATION

EQUALITY DUTY: PUTTING IT INTO PRACTICE

SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT CONSULTATION ON PUBLIC SECTOR EQUALITY DUTY SPECIFIC DUTIES (2009)

Introduction to BSL Translation

What the Consultation is about and how to respond

The Scottish Government is asking people for their views on the duties that should be placed on Scottish public authorities to assist them deliver on the general Equality Duty outlined in the UK Government’s Equality Bill.

‘Public authorities’ includes local authorities, health boards, further and higher education institutions, police and fire services, the Scottish Government and its Agencies, education authorities and many others. A full list of the kind of public authorities we’re talking about can be found in Annex D of the Scottish Government’s consultation document.

The Scottish Government Equality Unit will accept responses from Deaf people in writing – by letter or email – or in British Sign Language (BSL) on video, whether VHS, DVD or online. But it would especially welcome responses to the questions in its questionnaire on this consultation. You can find a link to the questionnaire here:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2009/09/28154835/0

If you want to give your response to a specific question in BSL, please remember to tell us the number of the question to which you are responding. But remember – your responses don’t HAVE to be to specific questions. You can make general comments and responses to the consultation from your point of view.

We need to know your name and address so that we handle your response appropriately. Your responses, your name and address do not have to be made public if you do not wish it. But we do need to know how you wish your response to be handled and, in particular, whether you are happy for your response to be made available to the public – or not.

With written responses, it is easy to have what you say made available to the public in writing without people knowing or seeing who you are. We recognise that this is not so easy if you are responding in BSL! So for Deaf BSL users, there are these choices:

1. If you as an individual respond in writing – by letter, email, or by filling in your responses to some or all of the questions on the questionnaire – please make it clear if:

You are happy for us to make your response, name and address all available

You are happy for us to make your response available, but not your name and address

You are happy for us to make your response and name available, but not your address.

You do not wish any of these – your response, your name or your address – to be made available.

2. If you as an individual respond in BSL, we will translate your BSL into English as part of the consultation process. So please make it clear if:

You are happy for the video of your BSL response, the English translation, your name and address to be made available.

You are happy for the BSL and the English translation to be made available, but not your name and address

You are happy for the English translation to be made available, but not the BSL or your name and address

You are happy for us to make the English translation of your response and your name available, but not your address

You do not wish any of these to be made available.

3. If it is important to you for your response to be seen in BSL, but you do not wish to be seen yourself, we will accept responses from you relayed or translated through another person into BSL. In this case, it is essential that we know whose response is being relayed or translated. The same questions as above regarding confidentiality – what you are happy for us to make available or not – should also be answered.

We also welcome responses from groups and organisations. If you are responding as a group or organisation, we WILL make your name and address available to the public. But we can keep your response confidential – in BSL and/or English – if you do not wish it to be made available.

On this website (or DVD if you are watching this on DVD) we have translated a summary of the consultation and all 39 of the consultation questions into BSL, with a brief explanation of the background to each question.

If you would like to see the full Scottish Government consultation document, it is available online at:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2009/09/28154835/0

Please send your response with the completed Respondent Information Form (if possible) to:

graeme.bryce@scotland.gsi.gov.uk

Graeme Bryce

Equality Unit

The Scottish Government

Area 2G

Victoria Quay

Edinburgh

EH6 6QQ

If you have any queries contact Graeme Bryce on 0131 244 2531 , or by email at: