Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether if a participant is unable to obtain Level 1 English as a result of deafness, fluency in British Sign Language can be accepted as a qualification for completing an intermediate apprenticeship.
Answered by Nick Boles
It is a minimum requirement of an intermediate apprenticeship that the apprentice complete Level 1 English and maths.
British Sign Language (BSL) is not currently recognised as an alternative for the purposes of completing an apprenticeship.
Apprentices can apply for Access to Work funding for reasonable adjustments. These will depend on the individual’s need and the qualification, but may include extra time, assistive technology and the use of a scribe. BSL is permitted as a reasonable adjustment for the oral element of functional skills.
We are considering whether BSL could be an acceptable alternative to qualifications in English for the purposes of completing an apprenticeship.
Asked by: Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will publish (a) the criteria used to select organisations invited to attend and (b) the organisations that attended personal independence payments consultation stakeholder events in January 2016.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department held stakeholder events in Birmingham, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Leeds and London. These were public meetings open to anyone who wished to attend; this was publicised on Gov.uk. Representatives of the following organisations requested to do so:
Aberdeen City Council
Action for Blind People
The Action Group
Carers Support (Bexley)
Cheshire Centre for Independent Living
Citizens Advice Bureau
Coventry Law Centre
Child Poverty Action Group Scotland
Community Navigator Services
Crohn’s and Colitis UK
Deaf Sector Partnership/Scottish Council on Deafness
DeafBlind Scotland
DeafBlind UK
Deafconnect
Elcena Jeffers Foundation
Enable Scotland
Enfield Disability Action
Gateway Housing
Glasgow City Council
Housing Options Scotland
Inclusion Scotland
Lothian Centre for Inclusive Living
Macmillan Cancer Support
Maggie’s Centres
Motor Neurone Disease Association
Multiple Sclerosis Scotland
Multiple Sclerosis Society
National AIDS Trust
Royal National Institute of Blind People
Scope
The Scottish Government
Sense
South Lanarkshire Council
Spinal Injuries Association
Social Security Advisory Committee
Swansea Council
Welfare Benefits Unit
Welsh Government
West Lothian Council
Wolverhampton City Council
Departmental officials also held one-to-one meetings with Scope, RNIB, Disability Rights UK, the Disability Benefits Consortium (an umbrella group of over 60 organisations), and Scottish and Welsh government officials. A meeting was also held specifically for members of the PIP Implementation Stakeholder Forum Working Group. Meetings were also held with both assessment providers, Atos and Capita, to discuss the impact of any policy change on the delivery of assessments.
Asked by: Rosie Cooper (Labour - West Lancashire)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what change there has been to the number of deaf people achieving further and higher education qualifications in the last five years.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Marylebone
The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) collects and publishes information on students enrolled at Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). The number of Higher Education qualifications achieved by deaf or hearing-impaired students at HEIs in England in the past five years is presented in the table:
Qualifications Achieved by Deaf or Hearing-Impaired Students by Academic Year | |||||
English Higher Education Institutions | |||||
Academic Years 2010/11 to 2014/15 | |||||
Academic Year | 2010/11 | 2011/12 | 2012/13 | 2013/14 | 2014/15 |
Qualifications Achieved | 1,445 | 1,570 | 1,520 | 1,430 | 1,295 |
Source: BIS Analysis of HESA Student Record | |||||
Notes: | |||||
(1) Figures have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 5 | |||||
(2) Deafness and hearing-impairment based on self-declaration by the student | |||||
The Skills Funding Agency (SFA) collects and publishes information on learners achieving Further Education and Skills qualifications. The number of FE and Skills qualifications achieved by deaf or hearing-impaired learners at Further Education Colleges in England in the past five years is presented in the table:
Qualifications Achieved by Deaf or Hearing-Impaired Students by Academic Year | |||||
English Further Education Institutions | |||||
Academic Years 2010/11 to 2014/15 | |||||
Academic Year | 2010/11 | 2011/12 | 2012/13 | 2013/14 | 2014/15 |
Qualifications Achieved | 20,690 | 20,720 | 23,850 | 23,990 | 21,530 |
Source: Skills Funding Agency Individualised Learner Record | |||||
Notes: | |||||
(1) Figures have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 10 | |||||
(2) Deafness and hearing-impairment based on self-declaration by the learner | |||||
Asked by: Rosie Cooper (Labour - West Lancashire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make it his policy to implement an adult hearing screening programme; and if he will recommend to the National Screening Committee that it undertakes a public health campaign on deafness and hearing loss.
Answered by Alistair Burt
The UK National Screening Committee recommended in 2015 that screening for hearing loss in adults should not be offered because:
- although hearing loss in older adults is a serious public health problem the evidence is too limited to establish the type of screening test to be used, the severity of hearing loss to target, the age of the population to be screened and the frequency of screening;
- uncertainty on the effectiveness of the long term use of hearing aids and on the effectiveness of additional interventions aimed at improving the duration of hearing aid use; and
- the absence of randomised controlled trials of screening in the general population. Screening has not been shown to provide any hearing related improvement in quality of life in comparison to hearing loss identified in other ways.
There are currently no plans by Public Health England to run an awareness campaign on adult hearing loss.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what provision his Department is making to improve employment outcomes for long-term unemployed people with deaf impairment for whom British Sign Language is their first language.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government is committed to ensuring that all disabled people have the opportunity to fulfil their potential and realise their aspirations. We offer a number of programmes and initiatives that successfully support disabled people into work, including deaf people or those with hearing loss who use British Sign Language.
Employment programmes such as Work Choice, Specialist Employability Support and Access to Work help disabled people, including BSL users, find, start and remain in work. Access to Work has a dedicated Deaf and Hearing Loss Team, which ensures that people with deafness or hearing loss receive specialist advice and support. Deaf people and those with hearing loss represent the largest group of people helped by Access to Work.
Last month, DWP took an important step in making Government services accessible to deaf people or those with hearing loss with the launch of the Video Relay Service (VRS), a six-month pilot which will ensure that BSL users can communicate with DWP staff quickly and easily. This service is available for Disability Living Allowance, Attendance Allowance and the Access to Work enquiry lines. VRS can be accessed on a laptop or PC, or through an app on iOS or Android devices.
On 4 January, DWP launched a call for evidence for its Market Review of Communications for people who are deaf or have hearing loss. More information can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/communications-for-people-who-are-deaf-or-have-hearing-loss-market-review
The Disability Confident campaign, launched in 2013, works to improve employer awareness and confidence in unlocking disabled people’s talents, including deaf people and those with hearing loss. We are encouraging employers to register their commitment to become more Disability Confident and receive an information pack and regular updates. More information can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/disability-confident
The Equality Act 2010 provides statutory protection against discrimination and sets out that employers must make reasonable adjustments for their disabled workers.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he expects transfer devices that enable people with single-sided deafness to hear sounds from their deaf ear in their other ear to be available through the NHS.
Answered by Alistair Burt
The information requested on the number of people with single-sided deafness is not available in the format requested. However, the following table shows the number of patients admitted to hospital with a diagnosis of single-sided deafness in the last five years in England.
Year | 2010 - 2011 | 2011 - 2012 | 2012 – 2013 | 2013 - 2014 | 2014 - 2015 |
Male | 277 | 286 | 295 | 336 | 301 |
Female | 299 | 279 | 310 | 336 | 332 |
This data may include the same person being admitted to hospital on more than one occasion and the data excludes diagnoses that were made outside of secondary care.
The Action Plan on Hearing Loss was jointly published in March 2015 by the Department and NHS England. It sets out the case for taking action on the rising prevalence and personal, social and economic costs of uncorrected hearing loss and the variation in access and quality of services experienced by people with hearing loss.
Transfer devices are available through the NHS. NHS England is developing commissioning guidance on the provision of hearing loss services, as part of its commitments in the Action Plan on Hearing Loss. The guidance will support clinical commissioning groups when making local decisions and help improve equality of access and patient experience.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people of each gender had single-sided deafness in each of the last five years.
Answered by Alistair Burt
The information requested on the number of people with single-sided deafness is not available in the format requested. However, the following table shows the number of patients admitted to hospital with a diagnosis of single-sided deafness in the last five years in England.
Year | 2010 - 2011 | 2011 - 2012 | 2012 – 2013 | 2013 - 2014 | 2014 - 2015 |
Male | 277 | 286 | 295 | 336 | 301 |
Female | 299 | 279 | 310 | 336 | 332 |
This data may include the same person being admitted to hospital on more than one occasion and the data excludes diagnoses that were made outside of secondary care.
The Action Plan on Hearing Loss was jointly published in March 2015 by the Department and NHS England. It sets out the case for taking action on the rising prevalence and personal, social and economic costs of uncorrected hearing loss and the variation in access and quality of services experienced by people with hearing loss.
Transfer devices are available through the NHS. NHS England is developing commissioning guidance on the provision of hearing loss services, as part of its commitments in the Action Plan on Hearing Loss. The guidance will support clinical commissioning groups when making local decisions and help improve equality of access and patient experience.
Asked by: Debbie Abrahams (Labour - Oldham East and Saddleworth)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the implications for his polices of the report by the UK Council on Deafness, Impact assessment: telephony equivalence for d/Deaf people, published in November 2013.
Answered by Lord Vaizey of Didcot
We welcome what has been achieved over the years with the introduction of Next Generation Text Relay and the number of companies offering video relay services increasing. Public facing Government departments will continue to work with interested parties to ensure this positive progress continues.
Asked by: Jim Fitzpatrick (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the recommendations contained in the report from the Ear Foundation entitled Bending the Spend, published in October 2015; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Alistair Burt
The Department in conjunction with NHS England jointly published the Action Plan on Hearing Loss in March 2015. The Action Plan sets out the case for action to tackle the rising prevalence and personal, social and economic costs of uncorrected hearing loss and the variation in access and quality of service.
The areas highlighted within the Bending the Spend report concur with and further strengthen those in the Action Plan. This includes the need to assess strategies for the earlier identification and management of hearing loss and the development of commissioning guidance to underpin the Action Plan, which NHS England will co-produce with stakeholders such as the Ear Foundation.
A Cross System Oversight Group had its first meeting on 14 October 2015. This will not only review and monitor progress of the implementation of the Action Plan, but will also provide a forum for government departments, arm’s length bodies and stakeholders within the hearing loss community to engage with each other to ensure connections are made and maintained across the system.
Membership of this group includes the Hearing Loss and Deafness Alliance of which the Ear Foundation is a member.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people with hearing deficits or deafness in Preston constituency had (a) British Sign Language interpreters or (b) Communication Support Workers provided to assist them under the Access to Work programme between 1 October 2014 and 30 September 2015.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The table below shows Access to Work expenditure on British Sign Language (BSL) Interpreters for people in the Preston constituency who had a primary medical condition recorded as "Deaf and hard of hearing" for each of the months requested.
Access to Work expenditure on Communication Support Workers for people in the Preston constituency who had a primary medical condition recorded as "Deaf and hard of hearing" relates to fewer than 10 people and has not been provided in order to avoid disclosure.
Month | Support Worker Type |
| BSL Interpreter | |
| Jan-14 | £31,000 |
| Feb-14 | £13,000 |
| Mar-14 | £11,000 |
| Apr-14 | £13,000 |
| May-14 | £9,000 |
| Jun-14 | £8,000 |
| Jul-14 | £14,000 |
| Aug-14 | £11,000 |
| Sep-14 | £4,000 |
| Oct-14 | £6,000 |
| Nov-14 | £11,000 |
| Dec-14 | £13,000 |
| Jan-15 | £8,000 |
| Feb-15 | £31,000 |
| Mar-15 | £20,000 |
| Apr-15 | £8,000 |
| May-15 | £11,000 |
| Jun-15 | £6,000 |
Twenty people in the Preston constituency who had a primary medical condition recorded as "Deaf and hard of hearing" were helped by British Sign Language (BSL) Interpreters as part of Access to Work during the most recent annual period for which data are available (July 2014 and June 2015). 12265
Fewer than 10 individuals in the Preston constituency who had a primary medical condition recorded as "Deaf and hard of hearing" were helped by Communication Support Workers during this period. To avoid possible disclosure the precise figure has not been provided. 12266