DEAF young people in Scotland continue to be let down by the current disability benefits system. Eighty-five per cent of the Personal Independence Payments (PIP) decisions that we have helped deaf young people to challenge have subsequently been overturned on appeal.
It comes as no surprise that this new research published by the Scottish Government illustrates failures within the current welfare system (“Government says disability switch to hit 30,000”, The Herald, October 31). Deaf young people routinely raise this with us.
Ensuring families are able to pay for the extra support their deaf child needs is essential to avoid leaving them vulnerable to isolation, bullying, low levels of achievement and underemployment/poverty in later life.
It is critical that the experience of recipients of Disabled Living Allowance (DLA) and PIP is given careful attention in the development of the new system in Scotland once the Scottish Social Security Agency is in place.
The Scottish Government needs to develop a fully accessible system which promotes disabled people’s independence, ensures assessors have the skills and knowledge to properly assess deaf young people, and provides independent advocacy so that families are fully supported in completing their PIP applications.
Angela Bonomy,
Director, Scotland and Northern Ireland,
National Deaf Children’s Society,
131 West Nile Street, Glasgow.
MUCH as deaf people in Scotland will welcome the prospect that the outcomes of the BSL National Plan could make a difference to their lives, many of them are convinced that Scotland can never be the "best place in the world for deaf people" until they have access to an effective system of education ("Holyrood plan aims to improve life for sign language users", The Herald, October 25).
The deaf people who earlier attended consultation meetings on the draft plan expressed huge disappointment to Minster for Childcare and Early Years, Mark MacDonald, that the plan did not address the situation of deaf children in the early years and in mainstream education. Concerns expressed over many years about inadequate support to deaf children in mainstream eventually led to the Scottish Parliament Education and Culture Committee holding an inquiry into attainment of pupils with sensory impairment in 2015. The inquiry report stated that more work is needed to improve the prospects of these pupils.
The reaction of deaf people to the draft BSL national plan proposal was one of immense frustration that none of the Government’s 10 long-term goals for BSL in Scotland directly addresses the inadequate provision of pupil additional support needs within mainstream education as highlighted in evidence to the inquiry.
There is ample evidence available that deafness is not a learning disability. Improved access to services by BSL users is one thing, but it will not remove the frustration and mental anguish of deaf people who are aware that the education system in Scotland is designed to work for the service providers and not for those that need it.
Iain Cameron,
Birnam Avenue, Bishopbriggs.
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