BSL Advisory Board meeting summary: 3 December 2025 (including BSL version)
Updated 14 January 2026
Applies to England, Scotland and Wales
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British Sign Language (BSL) version
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgL9UMRd3NU
Attendees
- Minister for Social Security and Disability, Rt Hon Stephen Timms MP
- Rosie Cooper, former MP for West Lancashire
BSL Advisory Board
- Craig Crowley MBE FRSA, Co-chair of BSL Advisory Board
- Alex Gowlland, Deputy Director of Disability Unit (DU), Cabinet Office, Co-chair
- Vicki Ashmore
- Jo Atkinson
- Teri Devine
- Catherine Drew
- Zoe Fudge Ajadi
- Abigail Gorman
- Gaye Hampton
- Richard MacQueen
- Ahmed Mudawi
- Kate Reed
- Sylvia Simmonds
- Sam Stocken
- Mangai Sutharsan
- Martin Thacker
Other government official attendees
- Four civil servants representing DU were in attendance
Apologies
- Erin McCluskey
- Richard Platt
Welcome and introductions
The co-chairs welcomed the attendees. They explained that the Minister for Social Security and Disability (MfSSD) and Rosie Cooper were due to join later in the meeting.
The co-chair reflected that the meeting marked the culmination of the first board’s 3-year tenure. They highlighted the board’s growing visibility and the significant progress achieved over 3 years. The successful launch of the ‘Locked Out’ report into Deaf people’s experiences of health and social care at an event in Parliament on 27 November was a key milestone.
Rt Hon Stephen Timms MP and Rosie Cooper joined the meeting. Both thanked the board for their work throughout the last 3 years.
Subgroup updates
Health and social care subgroup update (Jo)
Jo noted the successful launch of the health and social care report which included a lot of successful stakeholder engagement.
The minister emphasised the importance of removing barriers more broadly to increase employment and improve equality. He welcomed the subgroup’s report and recommendations as an important contribution to understanding what needs to improve in health and social care settings.
Education subgroup (Catherine)
The subgroup provided an update on their contributions to Ofsted and BSL GCSE consultations, as well as meeting with the Department for Education’s Minister for Early years earlier in the year to discuss the need to strengthen early years provision.
Employment sub group (Teri)
The subgroup focused on Access to Work and transition support from education to employment.
AI and technology sub group (Sylvia)
The subgroup emphasised the need for robust governance, linguistic accuracy, and inclusion of Deaf and Deafblind communities in discussions on technology.
Deafblind working group
The subgroup highlighted priorities including workforce development, leadership programmes, and improved data collection.
Board discussion
Members identified priorities which will be suggested to the new board to carry forward.
Any other business
The co-chairs thanked the board members for their contributions throughout their tenure on the board. They reflected on the board’s legacy before the meeting concluded.