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Still no sign language at Covid inquiry – a year after request was made

Disability advocacy groups warn some of the worst affected by the pandemic are missing out on ‘important information'

By Ruby Lott-Lavigna
Still no sign language at Covid inquiry – a year after request was made
A sign at a British Sign Language protest | Photo by Thomas Krych/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
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Disability rights groups have criticised the Covid inquiry’s lack of British Sign Language (BSL) interpreters after repeated calls to increase accessibility in public hearings.

It is exactly a year since disability advocacy groups requested “simple measures” to improve accessibility to the inquiry. The Covid inquiry began hearing evidence in June and has failed to appoint a BSL interpreter for any part of its proceedings.

A written submission from Disability Rights UK, Disability Action Northern Ireland, Inclusion Scotland and Disability Wales dated 27 October 2022 reads: “Simple measures can be instituted which have a profound effect on disabled people’s access and by extension participation in public proceedings.”

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Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0