BSL Costings Inquiry Group – Statement
Recent work with the All Party Parliamentary Group on Deafness (APPGD), by members of UKCoD, regarding an Inquiry into the cost of BSL recognition stalled due to lack of resources and change of government following the election in 2017. A group, supported by UKCoD has agreed to scope a study on the ‘Delphi’ principles, as […]
Read MoreA Message from UK Council on Deafness Chair, Craig Crowley
For a number of years the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) has been seeking to reduce the expenditure of its Access to Work Programme in order to safeguard public resources. In 2015 the DWP set a budget cap of £43,100 (1.5 times average earnings) for an individual Deaf person using Sign Language Interpreters, which […]
Read MorePress Release
We are pleased to see that the Department of Work and Pensions has decided to significantly raise the Access to Work cap. This will help deaf people whose first language is British Sign Language (BSL) to access the communication support so vital to enabling them to thrive and succeed in the workplace. The increase in […]
Read MoreHouse of Commons – Petition Debate
House of Commons first: live simultaneous BSL interpretation for petition debate On Monday 5 March there will be a petition debate on making BSL part of the National Curriculum. The debate will be in Westminster Hall at 4.30pm. For the first time, live in-picture interpretation for people watching live online will be available and a subtitled version […]
Read MoreMeeting with Sarah Newton MP
Minister of State for Disabled People, Work and Health – Cap on Access to Work Awards The UK Council on Deafness and the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Deafness have held a positive meeting with the Minister for Disabled People, Sarah Newton MP, to discuss the cap on Access to Work awards. The Minister […]
Read MoreDebate at Westminster Hall, 30 November 2017
Urgent Update Briefing for MPs [pdf] As many of you will be aware; the Chair of the APPG, Jim Fitzpatrick MP, has secured a three hour debate on deafness and hearing loss which will take place in Westminster Hall between 1:30-4:30 on Thursday 30th November. This is a general debate and MPs will be free to […]
Read MoreAPPG on Deafness
The APPG on Deafness held its AGM last Tuesday, 5th September and re-register as an APPG following the general election. We are delighted to announce that at this meeting, Jim Fitzpatrick MP (Labour, Polar and Limehouse) was reappointed unopposed as Chair of the Group. Full details of appointed officers can be found at https://ukckod.org/about-us/party-parliamentary-group-deafness/ During the AGM […]
Read MoreTHIS SURVEY IS NOW CLOSED
A SURVEY ON THE ATW (Access to Work) CAP IMPORTANT NOTE: The ATW CAP survey has been created to provide more information about the effects of capped ATW budgets on the working and professional lives of Deaf people. The survey is definitely for you if:- You have an ATW award and Your allocation has already been capped, […]
Read More30 June Parliamentary debate on deafness and hearing loss
The APPG on Deafness, chaired by Jim Fitzpatrick MP, has secured a 90 minute debate on deafness and hearing loss in Westminster Hall at 3pm on Thursday 30 June. Please tell the MPs you know about the debate, and encourage them to attend and speak. This is a great opportunity for us to make sure the government […]
Read MoreDWP pilots Access to Work personal budgets
On Monday the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Iain Duncan Smith, announced a pilot of personal budgets for the Access to Work scheme. In a statement to Parliament he said: “We are trialling a new feature of the access to work scheme. From today we shall be testing the use of personal budgets, which […]
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