§ Helen JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he is taking to increase the number of qualified British Sign Language/English interpreters. [171012]
§ Maria EagleThe lack of tutors at the higher levels is recognised as being a significant blockage in the system to recruit and train BSL/English interpreters. On 4 May, I announced we were putting in place a programme of work to support the Government's position statement on British Sign Language (BSL) and had raised the original funding allocation by a further half million to £1.5 million. One of the two priorities this work will address is helping establish a framework to support BSL tutors, for example by providing on-line training material and developing tutor support packs. These measures will, over time, assist an increase in interpreting provision.