British Sign Language Act 2022

JurisdictionUK Non-devolved
Citation2022 c. 34
(1) British Sign Language is recognised as a language of England, Wales and Scotland.(2) Subsection (1) does not affect the operation of any enactment or rule of law.(3) But see sections 2 and 3 (which, in connection with the recognition of British Sign Language by subsection (1) , impose duties on the Secretary of State relating to the promotion and facilitation of the use of British Sign Language) .(4) In this section, “enactment” includes an enactment comprised in, or in an instrument made under, an Act of the Scottish Parliament.(1) The Secretary of State must prepare and publish a British Sign Language report for each reporting period.(2) A British Sign Language report is a report describing what each relevant government department has done to promote or facilitate the use of British Sign Language in its communications with the public.any public announcement which it makes about policy or about changes to the law,the publication by it of any plan, strategy, consultation document or consultation response, or any explanatory or supporting materials, andits use of press conferences, social media or a government website to publicise any of its activities or policies,collect information from each relevant government department about the matters to be covered by the report, andset out in full or summarise that information in the report.relates only to Scotland and does not relate to reserved matters (within the meaning of the Scotland Act 1998) ;relates only to Wales and does not relate to reserved matters (within the meaning of the Government of Wales Act 2006) .(6) The Secretary of State must publish each British Sign Language report no more than three months after the end of the reporting period to which it relates.in respect of the first British Sign Language report, the period beginning with the day on which this section comes into force and ending with 30 April 2023;in respect of each subsequent British Sign Language report, the period (being not longer than three years) beginning on the day after the previous reporting period ended and ending on such date as the Secretary of State decides.(8) In this section and section 3, “relevant government department” means a United Kingdom ministerial government department listed in the Schedule.a change to the name of a United Kingdom ministerial government department, orany change to the way in which the United Kingdom ministerial government departments are organised.(10) A statutory instrument containing regulations under subsection (9) is subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.(1) The Secretary of State must issue guidance, or arrange for guidance to be issued, about the promotion and facilitation of the use of British Sign Language.advice for relevant government departments on providing information to the Secretary of State in accordance with section 2(4) ,advice on best practice for communicating with British Sign Language users (both when interacting with individuals and when communicating with the public at large) , andcase studies to illustrate the value of providing British Sign Language interpretation in communications with the public.relates only to Scotland and does not relate to reserved matters (within the meaning of the Scotland Act 1998) ;relates only to Wales and does not relate to reserved matters (within the meaning of the Government of Wales Act 2006) .(4) The Secretary of State must arrange for any guidance issued under this section to be published.(1) This Act extends to England and Wales and Scotland.(2) This section comes into force on

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