Acute shortage of British Sign Language Interpreters denies many the basic right to communication

Created: 20/03/2008

Aware of the acute shortage of British Sign Language interpreters - Andiamo! took the opportunity to find out more about the issues surrounding this problem. Project Controller, Kate Stansfield reports:

"In April 2007, CACDP reported that 469 BSL-English Interpreters were registered with them in England and Wales: this means that there is roughly 1 registered interpreter for every 106 Deaf people who need them."

This is a staggering statistic and one of many important observations made in the recent report on the current provision of BSL/English Interpreters within Yorkshire and the Humber. The report, commissioned by the Regional Language Network Yorkshire & The Humber, was officially launched by its author, Helen Tagg, on 13 December 2007.

The Projects Team at Andiamo! are acutely aware of the reality of the current shortage of BSL/English interpreters. Requests from clients for these interpreters are often difficult to satisfy due to interpreters almost always being fully-booked. Keen to learn more about the issues surrounding the provision of BSL/English interpreters, the invitation from the RLN to attend the launch at Centenary House in Leeds appeared to offer the perfect opportunity.

Attended by BSL/English interpreters, sign language tutors, members of the Deaf community and staff from the Leeds Deaf and Blind Society, amongst others, the day began with an overview of the report by its author Helen Tagg. She began by highlighting the importance of producing such a report – stressing the public and private sector’s need to conform with disability legislation, and by emphasising the effect of the lack of BSL/English interpreters on the Deaf community in terms of social exclusion.

Next followed a fascinating insight into the reasons behind the shortage of interpreters.  What emerged was a picture of a long and expensive route to the career of BSL/English interpreter, of a lack of information at national level concerning the number of Deaf people using BSL and of poor communication and coordination between the different communities involved.

The summary of the report’s recommendations sparked a session of lively discussion focused on several key areas of the issue:

Interpreter Training

To become a fully-qualified BSL/English interpreter is estimated to cost an average of £13,850 and take between 6 to 12 years. The report found that in the UK there are only three university courses offering the post-graduate track, only one of which is in Yorkshire and the Humber (University of Leeds), and six NVQ assessment centres offering the vocational route, none of which are in Yorkshire and the Humber with most in the South. Yet standards are more rigorous than for foreign language interpreting and the investment required to become qualified is not reflected in the average salary for interpreters, which is currently around £28,000 and has led to a steady decline in interpreters making themselves available. Finally, there is also a significant lack of information regarding the BSL and interpreting training courses available.

One of the solutions suggested by the report is to set up a short, affordable training course in order for those in Yorkshire and the Humber with the BSL Level 3 qualification to gain initial interpreter training. This would increase the number of people able to register as Junior Trainee Interpreters on the only national (and voluntary) CACDP list. Concerns were expressed by Deaf members of the audience, who fear that a shorter course combined with the provision of volunteer placements could lead to insufficiently-qualified interpreters being employed for assignments such as hospital appointments or job interviews. These fears can hopefully be eased by the report’s recommendations concerning how the interpreting career path can be cleared of obstacles whilst ensuring or indeed improving the quality of interpreting services provided in the UK.

BSL training

Not only is there a shortage of BSL tutors, but BSL courses are over-subscribed at lower levels, with increased fees blocking access to many from BSL Level 3 onwards. Margaret Miller from Sheffield College highlighted the fact that the doors to funding and progression in BSL training are closing, and that government intervention is needed. Steve Ward, on the same subject, spoke on behalf of the Learning and Skills Council and suggested that funding for training and skills is closely related to employer demand. The NVQ structure of BSL courses was also a concern, as this method is predominantly paper-based. Many of those present at the launch expressed the worry that this structure is an inadequate way of assessing a skill such as BSL, or indeed a foreign language, both of which are better based on skills, culture and ‘living the language’. An additional issue is the difficulty experienced by Deaf tutors in understanding and transferring information concerning the paper-based system, if indeed they can gain access to BSL tutoring posts given the emphasis placed on traditional qualifications such as English, Maths and Science.

Policy, funding and quality issues

It became clear to me - with limited prior knowledge of the communication problems facing Deaf people in the UK - that the emphasis being sought for a solution to the current situation was on the involvement of the Deaf community in the interpreting process. A lack of communication between the interpreting and Deaf communities was highlighted, with possible solutions raised both by the report and the audience at the launch, emphasising the need to upskill the Deaf community and make it easier for them to understand and become involved in the interpreting process. Participation could be as BSL tutors, interpreting mentors, script interpreters for videos and programmes, interpreters between two different signed languages, or relay interpreters.

Other speakers at the event included Richard Jones (British Deaf Association), Steve Ward (Learning and Skills Council) and Steve Conlan (Leeds Deaf and Blind Association). Together, they highlighted that a lack of financial support was the root cause of the problem. Richard Jones spoke of his hope that this report would enable increased funding where it is needed, suggesting that the Regional Language Network’s role in increasing the take-up of foreign languages in the area should include an effort to encourage an interest in learning BSL.

The future

The implementation of the report’s recommendation will involve the efforts of many: government, the public and private sector, interpreting agencies, the RLN, training providers and charities, and of course service users. Following the Welsh Assembly’s allocation of £2.7 million towards a new trainee interpreter programme, the supply of interpreters there has increased from 1 to 12, with the aim of 64 interpreters by 2009. With more and better training opportunities, including in-house interpreter schemes for public sector bodies such as the NHS, the problems facing Deaf people who rely on BSL/English interpreting services could be tackled.

It is hoped that the quality of provision can be raised by improving the quality of formal and practical training for interpreters. However the report also suggests that existing barriers to interpreters registering with the CACDP should be removed so that more interpreters of the required standard are made available to those wishing to comply with disability legislation. Effective use of this register as well as the creation of a code of conduct and quality assurance guidelines for agencies are examples of how companies like Andiamo! can play a more positive role in providing quality BSL/English interpreting services.

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