Senedd cross-party support for backbench sign language bill
Mr Isherwood, a disability rights campaigner for decades, explained the bill would introduce legal requirements to promote and facilitate the use of BSL in Wales.
He warned: 'Too often, deaf people are unable to access vital public services because they cannot communicate in their first language.
'This denies them their rights and places them at a significant disadvantage – whether in health care, education, employment, transport or otherwise."
He told the Senedd: 'BSL plays a crucial role in enabling communication and promoting inclusivity in everyday life – for many deaf individuals, BSL is their primary language.
'Deaf BSL signers in Wales cannot access services in their first language and this is unacceptable. As one individual undergoing major surgery shared 'throughout the whole time, I did not understand anything'.'
He added: 'If passed, therefore, this will be the most progressive BSL law in the UK.'
Jane Hutt welcomed and supported the bill on behalf of the Welsh Government, which recognised BSL as a language more than 20 years ago in 2004.
Wales' social justice secretary, who has worked with Mr Isherwood on developing the proposed legislation, described the bill as a step towards lasting change.
The backbench bill would be the first passed by the Senedd in a decade, with bills on mental health, food, education, autism and older people's rights rejected or withdrawn in that time.
Concerns have been raised about the Senedd's capacity for legislation brought forward by backbench members who are not a part of the Welsh Government. The BSL bill, as an example, was accompanied by a 113-page explanation and impact assessment.
If passed, it would be a first since Liberal Democrat Kirsty Williams introduced a bill on safe nurse staffing levels in 2014, which became law two years later.
Labour's Jenny Rathbone chairs the Senedd's equality committee, which she said had 'cleared the decks' to focus on seeing the BSL bill become an Act by May 2026.
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