Feeds
351 items (0 unread) in 9 feeds
Grumpy Old Deafies
-
Parliament: Police Forces & BSL / Lipspeakers
Posted: July 23rd, 2008, 6:11pm UTC
Cheryl Gillan (Shadow Secretary of State for Wales, Wales; Chesham & Amersham, Conservative) To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which police forces have procedures in place to provide British sign language interpreters and lipspeakers on a 24-hour basis for deaf people requiring assistance at police stations; and what steps her Department has taken to facilitate police force compliance with the requirements of the National Agreement on Arrangements for the use of Interpreters, Translators and Language Service Professionals in Investigations and Proceedings within the Criminal Justice System, as revised in 2007. Tony McNulty (Minister of State (Security, Counter-terrorism, Crime and Policing), Home Office; Harrow East, Labour) This information is not currently held centrally. All chief ... -
Parliament: Jobcentres and BSL
Posted: July 23rd, 2008, 5:38pm UTC
Jeremy Corbyn (Islington North, Labour) To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what facilities jobcentres offer to deaf people who arrive to make enquiries (a) with and (b) without an appointment; and how many front line jobcentre staff have qualifications in British Sign Language. Stephen Timms (Minister of State (Employment and Welfare Reform), Department for Work and Pensions; East Ham, Labour) The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, Lesley Strathie. I have asked her to provide my hon. Friend with the information requested. Letter from Lesley Strathie, dated 22 July 2008: The Secretary of State has asked Lesley Strathie to reply to your question ... -
Parliament: Disability Discrimination (General Qualifications Bodies) (Relevant Qualifications, Reasonable Steps and Physical Features) (Amendment) Regulations 2008
Posted: July 22nd, 2008, 7:17pm UTC
Maria Miller (Shadow Minister, Children, Schools and Families; Basingstoke, Conservative) To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families for what reasons the Disability Discrimination (General Qualifications Bodies) (Relevant Qualifications, Reasonable Steps and Physical Features) (Amendment) Regulations 2008 have not been the subject of a disability equality impact assessment. Jim Knight (Minister of State (Schools and Learners), Department for Children, Schools and Families; South Dorset, Labour) We have consulted with the interested disability organisations about laying the draft regulations (dated 19 June 2008) without carrying out an equality impact assessment. A consortium covering Scope, the Royal National Institute for the Blind, Skill, the British Association of the Teachers of the Deaf, the British Dyslexia Association and ... -
Parliament: Deaf Literacy
Posted: July 22nd, 2008, 5:57pm UTC
Michael Gove (Shadow Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, Children, Schools and Families; Surrey Heath, Conservative) To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families (1) what arrangements are in place to ensure that the teaching of literacy is accessible to deaf children, with particular regard to the use of phonics; (2) what arrangements are in place to ensure deaf children who fail to attain level 3 at key stage 2 English are receiving catch-up support tailored to their needs; Simon Hughes (Shadow Leader of the House of Commons; North Southwark & Bermondsey, Liberal Democrat) To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families (1) what steps he ... -
Parliament: Regulation of Hearing Aid Dispensing
Posted: July 16th, 2008, 8:59pm UTC
It appears that the Hearing Aid Council is being abolished next year, and its work merged with the Health Professions Council. The Hearing Aid Council describes itself as: We are the Government body that regulates the private hearing aid market. To sell a hearing aid in the UK you must be registered with us and meet our standards of education, training and conduct. You can complain to us if you are worried someone may not meet our standards or is selling hearing aids illegally. With the HPC describing itself as: We are a regulator, and we were set up to protect the public. To do this, we keep a register of health professionals who meet ... -
Parliament: Deaf Education, No Official Statistics
Posted: July 11th, 2008, 9:25pm UTC
Deaf children's education or rather the standards, has been a subject that has been buried under the carpet by consecutive governments. Its a subject that plays like a broken record, and the same mistakes made decade after decade, with no-one actually listening. There was a question in parliament around educational attainment: Stewart Jackson (Whip, Whips; Peterborough, Conservative) To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families (1) what proportion of deaf and hard of hearing children gained five or more GCSEs at grade C and above in the Peterborough City Council area in the last year for which figures are available; (2) what proportion of children gained at least two A-levels in the ... -
New BDA CEO = NEW BDA blog?
Posted: July 10th, 2008, 3:06pm UTC
Great to see a letter from the new BDA CEO here. Seems quite an interesting bloke, so I guess all we can do now is cross our fingers and hope for the best for the BDA.. We've been doing that for years, anyway, as well as nagging suggesting that they get a blog. I've forgotten how many times I've suggested that now, and I know quite a few other Deafies have done too, including Alison. So how about it, BDA? The world needs more UK Deaf blogs, and I'm quite sure that the UK Deaf community would love to read/watch what's going on with you all. Again, we nice people at grumpyoldeafies.com offer our help if you need it. Have ... -
Parliament: BSL in Prisons
Posted: July 9th, 2008, 9:55pm UTC
Rudi Vis (Finchley & Golders Green, Labour) To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many British Sign Language users worked in each prison at the latest date for which figures are available. Maria Eagle (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Ministry of Justice; Liverpool, Garston, Labour) Information on the number of prison staff or official visitors who are able to use British Sign Language is not collated centrally nor required to be recorded locally. A number of staff based at prison establishments have chosen to learn British Sign Language (BSL), however there is no requirement for them to disclose or record this either locally or nationally. There are also organisations such as the Birmingham Institute for the ... -
Parliament: Deaf Children & Listening in Examinations
Posted: July 9th, 2008, 8:15pm UTC
David Laws (Shadow Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, Children, Schools and Families; Yeovil, Liberal Democrat) To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what guidance his Department issues on assessing the ability of deaf children in examination in subjects where a listening component is generally required; and if he will make a statement. Jim Knight (Minister of State (Schools and Learners), Department for Children, Schools and Families; South Dorset, Labour) The Department does not issue guidance on detailed issues relating to examinations: it is for the qualifications regulators and the awarding bodies to ensure that appropriate arrangements are made, in the light of their duties under ... -
Parliament: Lipreading Funding
Posted: July 4th, 2008, 8:11pm UTC
Bob Spink (Castle Point, UKIP) I know that the Leader of the House cares about the 9 million people in the UK who are deaf or hard of hearing, for whom lip-reading is an absolutely essential life skill. Could we have a debate on the Government's guidance to local authorities on the cost of lip-reading classes? Uncaring councils such as Conservative-controlled Essex county council are pricing vulnerable groups out of lip-reading classes, and I am sure that no one in this House wants to see that practice. Harriet Harman (Lord Privy Seal, House of Commons; Camberwell & Peckham, Labour) The hon. Gentleman raises a very important point, and this is one of the reasons why we have placed ... -
Parliament: Deaf & Hard of Hearing Pilots
Posted: July 3rd, 2008, 11:33pm UTC
Lord Hanningfield (Shadow Minister, Transport; Conservative) asked Her Majesty's Government: What representations they have received from gliding clubs and individuals regarding the proposed requirement that all aircraft carry Mode-S transponders and radio equipment; and whether they have received any representations regarding the effect of the proposals on deaf and hard-of-hearing pilots. Lord Bassam of Brighton (Lords in Waiting, HM Household; Labour) The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) consultation regarding proposals for an incremental expansion of the use of Mode S transponders in the UK concluded on 31 May 2008. The CAA advises that approximately 2,100 replies were received of which a significant proportion originated from private individuals with gliding interests or organisations associated with gliding. The CAA ... -
New BDA CEO: Simon Wilkinson-Blake
Posted: July 2nd, 2008, 10:22am UTC
The BDA has appointed Simon Wilkinson-Blake as their new CEO. Simon was previously CEO of the British Motorcycle Federation and Director of RiderConnect. Their new Cultural Development Officer (CDO) for Scotland is Mark MacQueen, with Sue Barry as the NI CDO. A 100% Deaf board has obviously appointed a hearing CEO here. Hearing allies, especially with outside connections are important and powerful, however should they take a leadership role? Is the position of CEO indeed a leadership role, or do they take on a day to day administrative stance at wider led Deaf strategic direction? Ask the Readers: What do you think of hearing appointments? Would it ever be acceptable for a women's organisation ...