Vee-TV
Issues
Deafness and devolution
To discuss the work
of the new devolved Scottish Parliament and find out if deaf people in
Scotland feel their views are being represented, VEE-TV asked viewers
Avril Hepner and Paul Kyle to talk to Lilian Lawson, secretary of the
new Cross Party Group on Deafness and director of the Scottish Council
on Deafness.
Avril says she is
proud of her Scottish roots but worries that a move towards independence
may distance Scotland from England and restrict the choice of education
for young deaf people. She feels England has better provision than Scotland
when it comes to deaf education.
Paul is concerned
that while moves towards Scottish independence seem a good idea in theory,
the reality could be different. He feels it is important for deaf organisations
to retain strong links throughout the UK rather than become segregated.
His view is that the greater the number of people, the stronger the voice
they have.
Lilian Lawson, secretary
of the Cross Party Group on Deafness, explained that the Group will address
all deaf issues and is currently focusing on deaf education, audiology
services, universal neo-natal hearing screening, the shortage of trained
BSL interpreters and raising the awareness of deaf issues among members
of the Scottish Parliament.
Areas of specific
concern that Lilian identifies are:
- deaf children's
poor linguistic access, there being a shortage of teachers of deaf children
with BSL skills and a lack of mobile services in a number of local authorities
- the lack of resources
for audiology services, such as trained audiologists, and inadequate
hearing-aid budgets
As for digital hearing
aids, audiology clinics can buy digital aids from Scottish Healthcare
Supplies (a division of the NHS) as long as they have funds, whereas in
England, digital aids are currently only available from 20 audiology clinics
as part of a pilot project sponsored by the Royal National Institute for
Deaf People and the Department of Health.
Lilian also said that
she feels there is a need for the Group to involve younger deaf adults
in its work, and she has suggested the formation of a youth delegation.
Contacts/links
Cross Party Group
on Deafness
www.scottish.parliament.uk/msps/cpg/cpg-deaf
Information on the first meetings and members of the Cross Party Group
on Deafness from the Scottish Parliament’s official website.
Scottish Parliament
devolution guide
www.scottish.parliament.uk/whats_happening/docs/q-guide
A layperson’s guide to key features of the devolution settlement
and of the Scotland Act 1998.
Scottish Council
on Deafness
Clerwood House
96 Clermiston Road
Edinburgh EH12 6UT
Tel: 0131 314 6075
Text: 0131 314 6078
Fax: 0131 314 6077
E-mail: admin@scod.org.uk
Back to contents
Issues
Rush
Pulse
Backpackers
Find
out more
Message
board
Home
Access
advice
For web users with disabilities.
Graphic
version
Includes layout and images.
Top
of page
|
