British Sign Language 5-year plan: Attorney General's Office – 1-year update, July 2026 (English and BSL versions)
Updated 15 July 2026
Applies to England, Scotland and Wales
© Crown copyright 2026
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The Attorney General’s Office (AGO) remains committed to promoting the use of British Sign Language (BSL) throughout its communications and increasing accessibility for both staff and the public, in line with our published 5-year BSL plan.
Progress and impact in the last 12 months
In line with our commitment to promoting accessibility and BSL awareness (action 1 in our 5-year plan), accessibility guidance remains in place on our intranet and available to all staff. We continue to work closely with our human resources department to monitor whether any new starters have specific accessibility requirements, including BSL support. To date, no BSL requirements have been flagged through this process. As a small department, this regular check-in ensures we are well-placed to respond promptly if a need arises.
Regarding Sign Language Week 2026 (action 2 in our 5-year plan), we did not identify suitable external BSL content to promote on our corporate channels during March 2026. We remain committed to this objective and will continue to seek opportunities to promote relevant BSL content annually from March 2027 onwards, alongside publishing internal articles to raise BSL awareness among staff.
On increasing accessibility in internal communications (action 3), we have not yet circulated our annual staff survey but plan to include accessibility-related questions when we do, in line with our commitment to gather staff feedback on BSL and accessibility needs.
We will continue to monitor and review this plan, adjusting our approach based on staff feedback and the evolving needs of BSL users within the department.
Priorities for the next 12 months
Our main priorities for the next 12 months are to deliver the actions from our 5-year plan. This includes circulating our annual staff survey with accessibility-related questions to better understand BSL needs across the workforce, and using the findings to inform future activity.
During Sign Language Week in March 2027, we will:
- promote relevant BSL content on our official X account
- publish an internal article encouraging staff to engage with BSL awareness activities, such as free taster sessions or informal learning opportunities
No adjustments to the original 5-year plan are proposed at this stage. We will keep the plan under review and update it if staff survey findings or other emerging needs indicate a change in approach is required.