5. Will the First Minister outline Welsh Government plans to support individuals who suffer from hearing loss? OAQ(5)0676(FM)

The Welsh Government published an integrated framework of care and support for people who are deaf or living with hearing loss last month. This sets out our plan to improve the provision of health and social care services and support to ensure high-quality care across Wales.

Thank you very much for that response, First Minister. Further to that, perhaps you will know that the ‘Hear to Meet’ project, presented by Action on Hearing Loss, has come to an end. This means that there will be a decline in support for individuals with hearing loss across Wales. As a result of that, is your Government willing to collaborate with organisations such as the Wales Council for Deaf People and others to close the gap that has appeared because of the loss of this important project?

Well, a conference was held last Friday in Swansea, which was the national audiology conference. The chief scientific adviser was present to give a presentation at that conference, and, of course, emphasised the framework for action, and it’s clear that there is a great deal of support for this work. So, it’s important that the framework itself moves forward and that we ensure that it does have an impact on people’s lives.

I know the First Minister is aware that deaf children and children with poor communication skills are more likely to be the target of abuse than other children. In January, in a short debate, I highlighted the abuse suffered by children at a special school for deaf children in Llandrindod Wells in the 1950s, where, sadly, it was the children with poor speech skills who were being targeted, and that issue is being pursued. But what mechanisms are in place to make educational professionals aware that these children with hearing loss are often targeted and what measures are in place to ensure they’re adequately protected from such abuse in the future?

Ultimately, of course, it’s a matter for schools to ensure that bullying does not occur within schools. But the Additional Learning Needs and Education Tribunal (Wales) Bill, if passed, will completely overhaul the system for supporting pupils with additional learning needs, including learners with hearing impairments. It’ll obviously put the learner at the heart of that process and make it simpler for those involved. There will be finance, of course, to support the Bill, and, as part of the narrative around that Bill, I would want to make sure that bullying is dealt with as part of that narrative. Yes, it is important to support those with additional learning needs in the widest way possible, including, of course, protecting them from bullying.

First Minister, it’s important that the Welsh Government does create the right conditions in order to develop an education workforce that is able to provide for a broad range of additional learning needs, including those suffering from hearing loss, and I’m sure you’ll be aware of the demands to add British Sign Language to the national curriculum. So, can you give us an update on the most recent developments to add British Sign Language to the curriculum, and can you tell us what the Welsh Government is doing to encourage businesses to learn BSL in order to make local services as accessible as possible to all, including those who are deaf or living with hearing loss?

Well, there are standards as regards accessing the health service, and, of course, we expect those standards to be followed. As regards ways in which we can encourage businesses, for example, to present services that can be used by these groups, we would wish to work with those groups to ensure that that does happen, and, of course, to ensure that BSL is available, where possible. As regards the place of BSL within the curriculum, I will ask the Cabinet Secretary for Education to write to the Member to give him more details.