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British Sign Language (Wales) Bill

Welsh Parliament (Senedd) Legislation

Published March 11th, 2026

Detected March 20th, 2026

Summary

The Welsh Parliament has passed the British Sign Language (Wales) Bill, establishing new duties for Welsh Ministers and public bodies to promote and facilitate the use of BSL in Wales. The Bill mandates the publication of a National BSL Strategy and requires specified public bodies to produce BSL plans.

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What changed

The British Sign Language (Wales) Bill has passed its final stage (Stage 4 vote) in the Welsh Parliament on March 11, 2026. This legislation imposes new duties on Welsh Ministers and certain public bodies to promote and facilitate the use of British Sign Language (BSL) in Wales. Key provisions include the requirement for the Welsh Government to publish a National BSL Strategy and produce guidance for public bodies, while specified public bodies must develop their own BSL plans and report on progress.

This development signifies a significant shift towards greater accessibility for the BSL-using community in Wales. Public bodies listed in the Bill must now develop strategies and plans to integrate BSL into their services. Compliance officers within these organizations should review the Bill's provisions and the forthcoming Explanatory Memorandum to understand specific obligations, reporting requirements, and timelines for implementation. While a specific compliance deadline is not detailed in this announcement, the passage of the Bill indicates that these duties will become legally binding.

What to do next

Review the British Sign Language (Wales) Bill and its Explanatory Memorandum.
Develop BSL plans for specified public bodies as required by the Bill.
Establish reporting mechanisms for BSL promotion and facilitation efforts.

Source document (simplified)

British Sign Language (Wales) Bill

A Member Bill, introduced by Mark Isherwood MS. The Business Committee
has remitted the Bill to the Equality
and Social Justice Committee.

About the Bill

British Sign
Language (BSL) is a language that uses gestures, handshapes, facial expressions
and body language to convey meaning and which, in its tactile forms, can also
use touch. The aim of the Bill is to promote its use in Wales and imposes
various new duties on Welsh Ministers and on certain public bodies.

The Bill includes provision for the Welsh Government to:

promote and facilitate the use of BSL.

publish a National BSL Strategy describing how
they intend to promote and facilitate the use of BSL and report on progress.

produce guidance for public bodies listed in the
Bill about promoting and facilitating the use of BSL.

appoint a BSL adviser and a panel to assist the
adviser.

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Certain specified public bodies will also be required to
produce BSL plans describing how they intend to promote and facilitate the use
of BSL and report on progress.

Further detail about
the Bill can be found in its accompanying Explanatory Memorandum.

Current Stage

BillStagePost4

An explanation of the various stages of Senedd Bills is
available in the Guide
to the Stages of Public Bills and Acts.

Record of Passage in
the Welsh Parliament

The following table sets out the dates for each stage of the
Bill’s passage through the Senedd.

¬¬¬Stage 4, Vote by the Senedd to pass the final text of the
Bill (11 March 2026)

BSL
summary of Stage 4 proceedings (BSL, YouTube)

YouTube-Here https://www.youtube.com/embed/BkFQJtbupPc?si=4mlYQgStyAD1_Sli

Stage 4 proceedings of the British Sign Language (Wales)
Bill took place in Plenary on Wednesday
11 March 2026

Links to view the Stage 4 proceedings with BSL
interpretation can be found here:

Plenary

Stage
4

Voting

The
British Sign Language (Wales) Bill, as passed on 11 March 2026

Presiding
Officer’s Statement in accordance with section 111A(3) of the Government of
Wales Act 2006

zzz

¬¬¬Stage 3, Plenary consideration of amendments (27 January
2026 - 4 March 2026)

BSL
summary of Stage 3 proceedings (BSL, YouTube)

YouTube-Here
https://www.youtube.com/embed/31HZaRRQ0Hk?si=voIkrYO4t0u68IaR

Following the completion of Stage 2 proceedings, Stage 3
commenced on 27 January 2026.

Stage 3 proceedings took place in Plenary on 4
March 2026. The deadline for tabling amendments was five working days
before the date of the meeting at which they were due to be considered.

The Senedd agreed on 25
February 2026, under Standing Order 26.36, that the order of consideration
for Stage 3 proceedings would be:

Sections 1 - 6; Schedule 1; Sections 7 -12 and the long
title.

Notice
of Amendments – 23 February 2026 (PDF 96 KB)

Notice
of Amendments – 24 February 2026 (PDF 94 KB)

Marshalled
list of Amendments – 26 February 2026 (PDF 110 KB)

Groupings
of Amendments – 27 February 2026 (PDF 56 KB)

Revised
Explanatory Memorandum – February 2026 (PDF 112 KB)

British
Sign Language (Wales) Bill, as amended at Stage 3 (PDF 92KB) (Amendments to
the Bill since the previous version are indicated by sidelining in the left
margin.)

zzz

¬¬¬Stage 2, Committee consideration of amendments (18
December 2025 – 26 January 2026)

BSL
summary of Stage 2 proceedings (BSL, YouTube)

YouTube-Here
https://www.youtube.com/embed/lkRkt0l0MbU?si=KRO63x5-F2S2ucLW

Stage 2 began on 18 December 2025.

The deadline for tabling amendments was five working days
before the date of the meeting at which they were to be considered.

The Equality and Social Justice Committee agreed on 19
January 2026, under Standing Order 26.21, that the order of consideration
for Stage 2 proceedings would be:

Sections 1 to 5; Schedule 1; Sections 6 to 11 and the long
title.

Stage 2 consideration took place in Committee on 26
January 2026.

Stage
2 Bill scrutiny by a Committee (BSL, YouTube)

YouTube-Here
https://www.youtube.com/embed/OpnIpS3bZAc?si=anxrYxqYq9IxowWF

Notice
of Amendments – 14 January 2026 (99KB)

Notice
of Amendments v2 – 14 January 2026 (97KB)

Notice
of Amendments – 16 January 2026 (96 KB)

Marshalled
list of Amendments - 21 January 2026 (105KB)

Grouping
of Amendments - 21 January 2026 (92KB)

British
Sign Language (Wales) Bill, as amended at Stage 2 (92KB) (Amendments to the
Bill since the previous version are indicated by sidelining in the left
margin.)

The Research Service article: “ How
did the British Sign Language (Wales) Bill change at Stage 2?”

zzz

¬¬¬Financial Resolution (17 December 2025)

In accordance with Standing Order 26.68 the Presiding
Officer has indicated that a financial resolution is required for this Bill.
Further information about financial resolutions is available in the Guide to the scrutiny stages for Public
Bills (PDF 278KB).

zzz

¬¬¬Stage 1, Committee consideration of the general
principles **** (21 July 2025 – 17 December 2025)

A debate took place in Plenary on 17
December 2025. The motion to agree the general principles of the Bill was
agreed. The debate can be viewed on Senedd
TV, where BSL subtitles are available.

Outcome
of the Plenary debate at Stage 1 (BSL, YouTube)

YouTube-Here
https://www.youtube.com/embed/TeX89OU5bSM?si=wOXKf4Vl-zW6DNP1

BSL
summary of Stage 1 reports on the British Sign Language (Wales) Bill (YouTube)

YouTube-Here
https://www.youtube.com/embed/H8MW8U5VUto?si=5raKhh-uOAdndeJ1

The Equality and
Social Justice Committee considered its approach to Stage 1 consideration
on 21 July 2025.

Committee dates

The Equality and
Social Justice Committee considered the Bill on the following dates: