connect & collaborate conference report … · theatre. in 2008 we started the first deaf...

1SCoD NEWS | ISSUE 31 | SUMMER 2015

SCoD NEWSISSUE 31 | SPRING/SUMMER 2015scod.org.uk

Charity No: SC016957

Equality and Access for Deaf People in Scotland

Connect & CollaborateConference Report

Company Number: 492886

2 SCoD NEWS | ISSUE 31 | SUMMER 2015

I hope you all enjoy this newsletter. Its content is focussed mostly on our recent conference “Connect and Collaborate” held in the Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow on Thursday 12th March 2015. We were delighted at the support and attendance at this first annual conference and thrilled with the feedback.

What were we doing?As a membership based organisation, it is critical to have the engagement, involvement and participation of the members. Many organisations provided workshops, the market place stalls and of course participants. In addition, many key stakeholders were also represented.

Those who attended covered the main pillars of deafness: Deaf, Deafblind, Deafened and Hard of Hearing.

Our current, new approach was highlighted: a programme of work called “Connect and Thrive”. The approach has been supported by our main funders and the vast majority of our members. The three year programme covers Connect and

Collaborate, Connect and Communicate and finally Connect and Capitalise. We firmly believe that if all our members focus on their primary areas of work, we could co-ordinate and deliver more and better outcomes! We could also work more collectively to develop and design better funding applications, improved responses to tender opportunities and reach more people.

Yvonne Strachan, our keynote speaker, underpinned the approach and confirmed partnership was the expectation for the foreseeable future. This has resulted in a project to support the BSL (Scotland) Bill as it progresses - Effecting Change, Equality and Access for Deaf People. A cluster of organisations (BDA, Deaf Action, Deafblind Scotland and Deaf Connections), supported by Hilary Third from the Scottish Government and Neil Bird from the Voluntary Action Fund, will work with SCoD to deliver key outcomes. This work will be reported on separately.

The conference also noted the See Hear: The Joint Sensory Impairment Strategy.

The workshops reflected the wide spectrum of issues that affect people’s lives: housing, health, education and more. The networking opportunity has resulted in many new working relationships within the Deaf Sector and between deaf sector organisations and stakeholders. The market place covered several key services. The newsletter will give more detail of the day.

Printed on paper from well managed forests, where trees are farmed as crops.

Dear Colleagues,

Whilst every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in this newsletter, SCoD disclaims any liability for inaccuracy or omission.

Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of SCoD. No endorsement of services, events or products is intended or implied.

This newsletter is prepared in-house by the SCoD staff team. Articles for future issues are always welcomed from our members and we would encourage you to contact us with your news.

Please contact our Office Manager, Kellas, for more information:

Email: [email protected]: 0141 248 2474Text: 0141 248 2477SCoD is a Scottish charity: SC016957Company No 492886

EDITORIAL NOTE

News from the Chief Officer


What Happens next?We have a date set – Thursday 10th March 2016 and the Royal Conference Hall is booked! We aim to double the audience and increase the marketplace and workshops.

What will we do differently?The event will be longer and we will offer breakfast. It will be bigger with a choice of some introductory and more advanced workshops. We will make the marketplace more compact on the programme and ensure attendees are directed to it! We will find a way to support and promote even more networking between BSL Users and other attendees.

So, we are starting to plan the event for next year. We are looking for offers of workshop, market stall, entertainment, sponsorship and all suggestions are welcome.

Other workIn addition to that day, we have been busy with think days on the topics of policy, deaf register and communications/training. Reports are available. We commissioned some research from Dr Marian Grimes to find out what public bodies might need to support the BSL (Scotland) Bill. We are supporting the concept of “inclusive communication” and heavily involved in engagement and feedback from deaf people. We have planned a survey on a “hub” development to see if it will be part of our future. We hope to be involved in more coordination, monitoring and evaluation type work and plan to develop a research programme later in the year.

You may have noticed we are more accessible through the website including social media - Facebook: Scottish-Council-on-Deafness-SCoD; and Twitter: @ScodMedia. Please keep in touch as we value our members.

Best WishesJanis McDonald

We would like to thank the following for helping to make our inaugural Conference a success

Our Conference Organiser - John Robertson, GCVS

Glasgow Life staff especially Jacqui Chen and Scott Flemming

Cameron Presentations for the lighting and media

Photographer - Paul Martin

Our volunteers - Mary Watt, Susan McLean, Dylan Mitchell, Marian Grimes, George Kirkwood, Maurice Laneres, May Wood, Liz Rowlett, Liz Summerfield, Catherine McMillan, Emma Campbell, and Scott Ellerington

Our Language/Communication Support Team - Andrew Dewey, Mark Cross, Amy Cheskin, Gail Richardson, Mel Coulter, Bruce Cameron, Paula McGuire, Natalie MacDonald, Maureen Glover

Our Chair for the Day - John Hay MBE

Our Keynote Speaker - Yvonne Strachan, Head of Equality, Human Rights and Third Sector at the Scottish Government

Solar Bear

Signed Songs R Us

Everyone who presented their workshop

Everyone who had a stall in the marketplace

And all the delegates on the day.


John A Hay MBE - Our Chair for the Day

John Hay MBE comes from Edinburgh and has enjoyed an active association with SCoD since the late 1970s. He has spoken at several SCoD National Council meetings and is currently a member of the SCoD Back to School Project Advisory Committee. A retired Senior Lecturer, John is noted for his great passion for Deaf history and has presented papers on many deaf issues at local, regional and national conferences for the last 30 years. He is the co-founder and current Chair of the British Deaf History Society and is just finishing a 10 month stint as part-time regional Deaf Heritage Officer with the BDA Film Archives Project.

In the autumn of 2006, John was awarded a Winston Churchill Travelling Fellowship to conduct a study tour on Deaf museums and archival centres in Europe, USA and Canada. In 2008, he was awarded an MBE for services to higher education and to the Deaf community.

Our conference in pictures


SCoD see it’s role going forward as a strategic one. Being strategic is important for deaf people in Scotland. It’s about a range of people with very important stories to tell with perspectives and views that need to be heard and an opportunity to influence not just for directly and for and around deafness but broader issues that effect Scotland as a country.

Following the referendum in 2014, people in Scotland were thinking about the kind of Scotland they wanted to live in and many voices that had not been heard before were now being heard loud and clear. It created an environment where people could think carefully of what matters as a society and how well engagement takes place with all the diverse groups in Scotland.

The Third Sector in Scotland has 45,000 organisations in it. Deaf organisations make up some of that number, as do mainstream organisations

that support deaf people in their communities. The Third Sector has a real voice in Scotland and has an important role to play in being able to shape the

social and economic direction of the country.

The Scottish Government has changed its approach from looking at how much money has been spent or outputs achieved, to what difference does government spending have for the people in Scotland and what is the impact of the things the government does. When there is little money available, it is important ot look at what assets do organisations and

communities have and how can they work together. By using a co-production model, limited financial resources can go further.

There is a strong commitment to equality within the Scottish Government and a strong commitment to supporting deaf people to have a say. There has been a significant shift in what the strategic context of government. The Scottish Government has put in place a strategic strategy that concentrates on prosperity and growth and on equality and fairness. There is a strong focus on social justice, tackling inequality and to engaging with people. It matters that individuals are part of being able to shape the decisions that affect them.

There needs to be more collaborative working in the Third Sector but also across all sectors in Scotland. The Third Sector Interfaces (TSIs) are providing some of the infrastructure to progress this collaboration using a social enterprise model. Organisations in the deaf sector can find out how they may be more enterprising and find ways to expand their horizons by thinking about building your vision, leadership, skills and capacity and ideas about innovation. Contact with the TSIs can help with sustainability and independence and holding on to the social question of the value organisations create.

Social change means thinking about how to increase your connections, working collaboratively with others, what you may do differently to focus on outcomes, growing what works and hanging on to that and getting rid of the things that are not working so well. It’s making sure that your main mission can be as effective as possible in the bigger picture.

Keynote Speaker - Yvonne Strachan

Social Enterprise Support

Social Enterprise

Leadership and Development

Social Investment and direct funding

Business Support

Support for social

Entrepreneurs

Infrastructure and social

capital

Positive Legislation and

Policy


Solar Bear - Gerry Ramage

Gerry Ramage, Artistic Director for Solar Bear was invited to present at the SCoD conference on their collaboration with the Royal Conservatoire and the wider theatre sector.

Solar Bear was established in 2002 to give opportunities to talented young people to participate in the performing arts who wouldn’t otherwise have had access due to socio-economic status or disengagement. They showed potential but lacked opportunities.

In 2006, they commissioned “Broken”, a series of plays about people who felt excluded from the world around them. One of the characters was deaf so they had to find a deaf actor and make sure the production was accessible for the deaf actor and the deaf and hearing audience. When looking at how they had coped with this, Solar Bear decided

that they had to do things differently. In general, theatres and productions were not accessible for deaf people.

Solar Bear began to address issues and have delivered 25 deaf awareness programmes to theatres. They have established a deaf theatre club with over 300 people attending theatre performances. In partnership with the Royal Conservatoire they have started training for interpreters wishing to sign in a theatre. In 2008 we started the first Deaf Theatre for young people. In all their work they make sure the language is accessible to deaf and earing audiences. Last year Solar Bear made a short film “Love Divided” exploring the world of two people separated only by differences. It is being shown at film festivals and will be released next year.

In 2011, Solar Bear approached Professor Maggie Kinloch of the Royal Conservatoire and asked for her help. She shared their vision of a more diverse pool of actors. The collaboration began. After a fact finding mission to Stockholm and an international research process to find out what is out there for training of deaf actors, the Royal Conservatoire embedded the wider aspiration in to their plan to be the UK centre of excellence for deaf performers. So began a major culture change which includes co-hosting apprenticeships, deaf awareness training for staff and students, and signed performances.

The BA Performance in Sign Language and English will commence September 2015 with up to 12 places. It will be the only course of it’s type in the UK. It will encompass all aspects of performance. www.rcs.ac.uk/courses/ba-performance/

Oor Beautiful LanguageShut yir GeggyHaud yir wheeshtPull yir heed in palWind yir neck in, button itGee it a brek ‘n allZip it, shut itFermy yir bushAway yir talkin keech!So many delightful, diverse ways,for expressing freedom of speech?

Solar Bear - the peformance


“Deaf Awareness – The next step” by Andy Irvine - Director COMMTACS learning & development

The benefits of training/learning approaches and the positive outcomes of being able to work with/deliver services to deaf & deafblind people by understanding and overcoming real or perceived barriers. The workshop focused on the importance of knowing why any learning/training is being delivered/requested and reviewing learning delivery/interventions by means of Return on Investment (RoI) and Return on Expectations (RoE).

The main topics discussed were:• Why people learn – service providers ‘have’ to be deaf/deafblind aware• Methods of learning – in-house, external, peer, online.• Post learning benefits – need to check and review service/behaviour has

improved• Evaluation of L&D – stakeholder benefits• How to involve users – learning needs analysis through to evaluation• Value of learning ‘from the experts’And

• The benefits of informal and formal learning/training;• Having the skilled trainer as well as having the required knowledge to ensure effective learning can take

place; and• The process of checking learning has had a positive and long lasting impact rather than just a tick-box

exercise which only provide short term solutions.

Workshops

The value of learning and development

The development of talent and skills is essential for organisational success in the modern economy. In conjunction with any costing exercise it is important to ensure that learning interventions are aligned with strategic business objectives, and are evaluated accordingly.

contactSCOTLAND-BSLThe Scottish Government has extended the current NHS 24 online British Sign Language (BSL) Video Relay Interpreting Service pilot to the rest of the Public Sector in Scotland. Since its national launch, it has attracted a great deal of attention from both public services and Deaf people themselves. The service is free and can be used to contact all public sector bodies in Scotland. It is not for emergency 999 calls nor is it to replace face-to-face interpreting when that is what is required. We have received comments from people saying how helpful and supportive the online interpreter has been, which is excellent! Andy Irvine is working one day a week, as the contactSCOTLAND development project officer. Andy will promote and raise awareness of contactSCOTLAND. [email protected] or www.contactscotland-bsl.org.


Workshops

My name is John Whitfield and my role at Deafblind Scotland is the Health Access Officer. This is a project funded by the Scottish Government for three years. I am now in my final year of this post. This project is to ensure deafblind people can fully benefit from mainstream health and social care services. It will benefit those who have a severe dual sensory loss, their families and carers. It will highlight the needs of deafblind people for communication support if they are to be able to access services. We would offer; training, provide information, advice on how to include deafblind people and develop policies and solutions where appropriate for health services.

I have Usher syndrome type 2 which means I am severely deaf from birth and I wear 2 hearing aids and lip read. In my late teens my sight began to deteriorate due to Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP) otherwise known as tunnel vision. I now have 5% of vision left. I been with Deafblind Scotland for 15 years in many different capacities.

“The Deafblind Scotland Health Collaboration and Access Project: the story so far”.

My presentation gave an overview of some of the good accessibility practice that I found around Scotland that other organisations could emulate.

Two questions posed for group activities were:

1. “what accessibility challenges do you think deafblind adults may face when accessing health service in Scotland?” and

2. “What you think works well in your health services for access?”

Many commonalities arose that were concurrent with my own findings. The main challenges are:

a) No/little active consideration of Deafblind adults and their access needs in policy or procedures. This results in problems from referral

to attendance - a catalogue of inaccessible misadventures.

b) Referral to health service does not usually identify deafblind communication support needs and whether or not the person needs a guide/communicator.

c) Health records do not identify Deafblind needs.

d) Appointment notices are never in alternative formats. They only come by telephone or post.

e) Getting to appointments or being listed as a ‘defaulter’ i.e. did not attend, when the problem is that the deafblind person did not actually know about appointment.

f) Having to rely on family and friends to communicate with health professionals

g) The person’s right to have an interpreter are recognised if BSL is the person’s first language. However, Deafblind adults experience discrimination when they require to access the tactile version of BSL.

These are the problems faced just to the appointment.

Hopes for the future

• Increased collaborative working with partnership organisations, health bodies and professionals.

• We have our foot in the door. Let’s keep the door open.

• We need to have more involvement from the grass roots level especially now that Health and Social Care Integration is underway.

• Much more Third Sector involvement; and

• More community engagement.


Workshops

Would volunteers fit in my organisation?

Presented by: Linda Sharkey, UK Director, Hearing Link

Volunteers can be a tremendous boon to organisations – but along with the opportunities there can also be challenges. This can be especially so if you work with deaf or hard of hearing people, or if your volunteers are deaf or hard of hearing.

In the Scottish Household Survey 2013, it was noted that more than 1.25 million Scots volunteered, with approximately 17% volunteering regularly (at least once per month).

In this workshop, Linda first looks at the reasons organisations should consider volunteers, and the mutually beneficial ways that you can involve them in your work. Volunteers add more than just capacity to organisations; they also bring with them a wealth of personal experience, add diversity to the workforce and can offer genuine ‘peer’ experience. Volunteers should, therefore, be considered fully as

part of your organisation’s resource, and included in your Organisation’s planning and visioning. There are many truths and myths about working with volunteers - we explored some of the myths, such as ‘volunteers are a free resource’; volunteers need input, support, training and monitoring, as well as out-of-pocket expenses covered - thus making them not free. Is this investment worth it?

Absolutely!

During the workshop Q&A, there were many questions raised about how to accommodate the needs of people who are deaf or hard of hearing, particularly around issues of communication and accessibility. There were many people in the workshop who had positive stories they could share about growing a volunteer team and/or developing volunteers, and there were questions about how to tackle some of the challenges around volunteer performance and feedback.

To successfully involve volunteers in your organisation, you must consider the motivations for volunteering, and be sure to give back to your volunteers an enriching and rewarding volunteer experience.

“I never thought I’d ever hear myself saying this but, losing my hearing has actually been a very positive thing for me in many ways. Because of getting involved with Hearing Link, and taking the very first tentative step into volunteering (and I was tentative at that time) I have got involved in so many things and learned lots, and I have gained so, so much more back” Ann

Hearing Link would like to thank their volunteers who gave their time to support SCoD at this event.

ILiS - Heather Fisken, John Denerley and Andrew Dewey AC2 Productions - Joel Kellhofer

Other workshops...in pictures


Workshops

Action on Hearing Loss - Delia Henry NDCS - Emma Galloway and Joanne O’Donnell


Katie Mowat, Health Challenge Officer for the British Deaf Association (BDA). Katie’s role within the BDA is working with existing providers and professionals to ensure all information, services, advice and health promotion are fully accessible for Deaf people.

Katie presented a workshop on “Health Services Provision to BSL Users in Scotland”. The workshop was based on a research project Katie had worked on aimed at ensuring Deaf people have equal and direct access to all forms of health care and health promotion across Scotland. Katie gave a presentation of what was involved in the project, what research was carried, how they gathered the information and how that information was used to form the findings in the report. This was followed by a discussion. One Deaf man said “as technology is used more, staff at NHS will not be used”, it was acknowledge that receptionists may disappear in the future, being replaced by electronic booking systems.

While people felt the use of technology - online interpreting, for example, was fine at times, for example for short appointments. For most appointments with health professionals, it was felt that a face to face

BSL/English Interpreter would be best for both patient and the doctor. All who participated in this workshop felt there are not enough BSL / English interpreters and for this reason said it might be beneficial to use on-line BSL / English interpreting services. A participant from NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde spoke about “BSL Champions groups” in their Health Board area. The overarching suggestion to come from the workshop was that NHS staff require more training when helping Deaf people to arrange appointments, and to answer any questions they may have.


Workshops

OSCR - Laura Anderson Falkirk Council - Maria Dick and Bruce CameronNDCS - Emma Galloway and Joanne O’Donnell

Avril Hepner works at the British Deaf Association (BDA) Scotland’s Glasgow office. As Community Advocacy and Development Officer, she is responsible for Central and Southern Scotland.

The title of Avril’s workshop was “Using a collaborative approach to help your housing organisation adapt its services to meet the needs of Deaf service users.” This workshop looked at how collaborative working has helped a large social housing provider to engage with its Deaf tenants, identify the barriers to access they face and develop practical measures to improve their experiences when accessing services. It aimed to help other housing providers to explore their own service arrangements for Deaf service users and to assess the benefits that a similar approach could bring to them.

Avril gave a presentation on her two-year experience working closely with Glasgow Housing Association (GHA) and its housing officers. Here, her advocacy work was related to issues such as reporting repairs, assisting with filling in application forms for new housing and advising GHA how to improve their services and access to information on their website. For example,

BSL/English interpreters are now made available when GHA staff visit Deaf tenants at home to do repairs, or at meetings about moving to new tenancies. Direct email/text contact has also been set up between Deaf tenants and housing officers. A new online BSL/English interpreting service has been introduced via GHA’s website so that their Deaf tenants can contact them in BSL rather than using a telephone.

There was a discussion about the best collaborative ways to engage with Deaf BSL users and involve the Deaf community in consultations. Avril gave advice and tips on the best way forward to good working relationships between Deaf organisations, such as the BDA, and housing organisations – open meetings and consultations can Be set up to gain more Deaf input and feedback about their services. Communication barriers and proposed solutions were also discussed, and Avril explained the importance of having a single way for Deaf people to contact the service (call centre), rather than a “pass the parcel” system. It was a productive workshop, with lots of food for thought for service providers to take away and explore.



Workshops

Entertainment at lunchtime

Members of the Choir (L to R):

Christine Anderson,Vivienne Parkinson,Janet Jack,Jennifer Ramsay, Lynne Hollinshead andElizabeth Adam.

John Kimmet and Kate Henderson of GCVS held a workshop on funding for organisations who want to ensure their work and premises are accessible to all, and to introduce GCVS’s First Funding Stop, a searchable funding database that can help organisations do this.

The first part of the presentation was on how to put together a successful funding application and working in partnership with funding organisations to ensure the delivery of services that will benefit the people who need them.

Top Tips for successful funding applications

1. Planning. Think about what you want to achieve. Speak to others in the sector so you are not applying for funding to do something that is already being done better elsewhere.

2. Make sure what you are doing is suitable: your organisation is structured and you are the appropriate organisation; feasible; and achievable.

3. Do your homework. Check the funders’ criteria and conditions. 4. Identify and make sure you can meet deadlines. 5. Work out your budget. 6. Take time to complete the application properly. Make sure you have considered everything you need.7. Don’t ramble. Use straightforward language. Applications are business approaches. 8. Don’t make claims you can’t substantiate. If you use statistics, reference them. Look professional. 9. Make sure you meet the SMART criteria - everything must be Specific, Measureable, Achievable, Realistic and

Timely.

The second part of the presentation looked at the funding database GCVS host on their website which is specifically for funding for accessibility. For more information, go to the GCVS websitewww.open4community.info/glasgow


Singing at Lunchtime

Let’s all sign and sing together after lunch

Mapping of Current BSL Provision in ScotlandIf the British Sign Language (Scotland) Bill becomes law, it will require a wide range of named Scottish public authorities and institutions to regularly produce a plan which relates to the National BSL Plan. The purpose of this plan is to improve the access to information and services for BSL Deaf users in Scotland.

SCoD commissioned a piece of research to find out what kind of support the public bodies in Scotland are likely to need to prepare for their first BSL plan. This research has recently been completed. To dovetail and complement the information that this research has produced, there is an additional mapping exercise currently being undertaken that will show the existing provision of information and services available for Deaf/BSL users in Scotland at this time.

This combination of data will be the starting point for SCoD as it takes forward work funded by the Scottish Government to support public sector organisations and inform their planning processes. This will enable

a progressive approach to their capacity to develop increased provision of services and access to information in BSL. The public sector bodies that were involved in the research and the mapping exercise are those listed in the BSL (Scotland) Bill.

The mapping exercise includes a piece of desk-top research looking at accessibility and access. We will also be contacting all our members to find out exactly what services they provide for Deaf/BSL users so that collaborative working can be encouraged at a local level between SCoD members and public bodies. We are looking at website accessibility as part of this mapping work. Most people with computer access will look to the public bodies and their websites for information and contact details. If these websites do not have information in BSL, Deaf/BSL users are at a disadvantage even before they have to access services. The report from this mapping will be available on our website once it is complete and will be used to inform the Deaf Sector Partnership’s work.

SCoD Update


Back to School DVDs Launch

SCoD Update

On Thursday 14th May in the Beardmore Hotel SCoD, in partnership with Deaf History Scotland, launched its most recent Heritage Lottery funded project, ‘Back to School – Lessons to Learn’.

The purpose of the project was to preserve the memories of Deaf people who were sent to specialist schools for deaf children. The series of filmed interviews were made into a three-DVD box set, which includes a booklet to encourage discussion and questions, when the DVDs are used as a teaching tool. The DVDs have been used during workshops that took place in a number of deaf schools and units across Scotland.

John Hay MBE spoke at the launch about the history of deaf education in Scotland. He delivered his presentation in his usual informative, anecdotal and humorous style. John’s presentation was followed by Margaret Aitken discussing the workshops she delivered with Lilian Lawson OBE in deaf schools and units throughout Scotland using the DVDs. These workshops were evaluated by the Scottish Oral History Centre and appeared to be very well received. The pupils had the chance to participate in discussion and demonstrations of old equipment.

The final presentation was delivered by Heather Gray, Scotland Director at NDCS, who spoke about deaf education today. This prompted an emotional response from some of the delegates, who realised that very little has changed in the provision of quality education since their own experiences many years ago. The Beardmore Hotel was a fantastic venue for this launch and the hospitality was excellent. The food was delicious and the space for networking was highlighted as a definite positive by those attending.

Deaf Sector PartnershipThe Scottish Government Equality Unit has funded five organisations this year – 2015/2016 – to work with Deaf/BSL users and public bodies to prepare for the possible enactment of the British Sign Language (Scotland) Bill later this year. This year, the Equality Unit has doubled the funding it is giving to the deaf sector.

SCoD, BDA, Deafblind Scotland, Deaf Action and Deaf Connections will work together in a partnership with the Equality Unit and the Voluntary Action Fund (VAF) to

1. Engage with the Deaf/BSL community (including Deafblind people who use BSL); and

2. Support public bodies to better understand/meet the needs of Deaf and Deafblind BSL users.

Quarterly reports on the work of this partnership will be available on the SCoD website.

“Think Pieces”SCoD held three “Think Pieces” recently. The first one was on Policy and how SCoD and its members ensure the voice of all deaf people is heard by the policy makers and service planners. The other two - held on the same day in May - were on Deaf Communications and Training in the deaf sector. Reports from the pieces will be available soon on our website. If any of our members have ideas for future think pieces, please contact us to discuss.

SCoD would like to thank everyone involved in ensuring the project and the launch were a great success.


The BSL (Scotland) Bill has passed onto Stage Two of the parliamentary process. The Scottish Parliament Education and Culture Committee published the report of their findings at the end of April. The Scottish Government wrote a reply explaining why their amendments should be considered. Mark Griffin MSP then presented his motion on his Bill for debate in the Chamber on Tuesday 5th May. Several MSPs took part in the debate from across all the parties and all supported the motion. John Swinney, Deputy First Minister, spoke to motion S4M-13052 on the financial resolution to the Bill. When it came to decision time, both Mark’s motion and the financial motion passed without a vote.

In this next stage of the Bill’s journey through parliament, the Education and Culture Committee will take amendments from Mark Griffin MSP, the Scottish Government and other MSPs. One amendment was withdrawn and all the government amendments were considered and agreed to on Tuesday 2nd June. The date for the final stage of the process – Stage Three – has yet to be announced. It is at this stage, amendments will be voted on and the final decision will be made on whether or not the Bill should be passed.

To follow the passage of the Bill through the parliamentary process, go to www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/Bills/82853.aspx

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Company No 492886

connect & collaborate conference report … · theatre. in 2008 we started the first deaf...

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