News & Updates
Food Standards Scotland publishes first British Sign Language (BSL) plan
Food Standards Scotland (FSS) has published its first British Sign Language (BSL) Plan 2021-2024, setting out how the organisation aims to improve accessibility of information, advice and services for BSL users.
This BSL plan shares and supports the goals set out in the Scottish Government’s BSL National Plan 2017-23.
This includes improving the accessibility of information, such as food safety and healthy eating advice, on the FSS website; providing BSL awareness training to staff; and ensuring BSL users have equal opportunities to join the FSS workforce and supporting them in their roles throughout the organisation.
This piece of work was developed by FSS’s cross-organisational BSL Steering Group, with support from Scottish Deaf and sensory impairment organisations.
Publication of the plan follows engagement and consultation to seek the views of BSL users and members of the Deaf community in Scotland to ensure the actions in the plan meet their communication and accessibility requirements.
Ian McWatt, Deputy Chief Executive & Director of Policy, Science and Operations at Food Standards Scotland, said:
“As a member of FSS’s BSL Steering Group and across the organisation, we recognise the value that BSL and those who use it bring to Scotland. There is a real need for collaborative working to remove the barriers that Deaf and Deafblind people face when accessing public services and related advice.
“Therefore, we are committed to ensuring that BSL users can easily access the information and advice they need from FSS.
“To support the Scottish Government’s BSL National Plan, we spent time learning and engaging directly with BSL users to help us develop a plan that meets their needs.
“The publication of our plan is a positive starting point and we look forward to continuing to work with BSL users and the Deaf community throughout the lifetime of the plan.”
