HL Deb 08 January 2003 vol 642 cc201-2WA
Baroness Anelay of St Johns

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What discussions they have held with the British Deaf Association and the Royal National institute for the Deaf about including sign language as a language, the sufficient knowledge of which could give a person the opportunity to make a successful application for naturalisation as a consequence of the implementation of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002. [HL762]

Lord Filkin

As mentioned in the letter I sent to the noble Baroness on 3 October, the British Deaf Association and the Royal National. Institute for the Deaf were two of the organisations we consulted during the summer on the role of sign language in naturalisation knowledge requirements. As a result of these consultations we concluded that the best course was to waive these requirements for those with serious hearing disabilities.