CAB puts BSL online

In a move to expand its accessible services, Citizens Advice has just gone live with a British Sign Language service for deaf customers. Sunil Peck reports

Access for deaf people to the legal and financial advice provided by the Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) has been widened with five online films in British Sign Language (BSL) produced by the charity.

There’s an introductory film with information on arranging an appointment with an adviser, along with the kind of information you should take with you. The four other films contain advice on clearing debt, the social security benefits you can claim, what you can do if you’ve been discriminated against and employment rights.

Ernesto Bueno Del Carpio is deaf and advises clients at Citizens Advice in Wolverhampton. He acted as a consultant in the making of the films and thinks that other BSL users will find the web resource useful for resolving their legal and financial issues.

He said: “Very often deaf people are too intimidated to go to a bureau because they fear they will have communication problems. While a BSL video does not provide instant advice, it can help start the client in the right direction.”

Asif Iqbal, Media and Project Manager at Deaf Parenting UK and a BSL user, welcomed the online films and said that they would cut out the need for BSL users to rely on interpreters.

He said: “It is fantastic to have the information and advice on debt, employment rights, anti-discrimination and benefits in BSL. This would enable us to have full access to information and make informed choices. We have had to reply on support from other people in BSL to explain the information from English to BSL but having a BSL version on the Citizens Advice website means deaf people are able to understand which information and advice to use quickly.”

As part of its plan to widen access for deaf people, Citizens Advice has a service where BSL users can communicate with advisers in BSL either in their local branch or via web cameras with advisers in other parts of the country.

Citizens Advice in Scotland says that they have no plans to introduce online films in BSL but the charity’s partner in Northern Ireland says that it is being considered there.

Citizens Advice will also be distributing DVDs of the films to all bureaux in England and Wales which would be available for deaf clients to watch.

There are also transcripts of each film which can be downloaded from the website.

• To watch the films, go to www.adviceguide.org.uk/index/bsl.htm