Pobl sy’n Fyddar neu’n Drwm eu Clyw
People who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing
Janet Finch-Saunders
5. A wnaiff y Gweinidog ddatganiad am sicrhau na wahaniaethir yn erbyn pobl sy'n fyddar neu'n drwm eu clyw?
5. Will the Minister make a statement on ensuring that people who are deaf or hard of hearing are not discriminated against?
Carl Sargeant
People who are deaf or hard of hearing are protected against discrimination by the Equality Act 2010. The Act also requires that public bodies must have due regard to advancing equality of opportunity and fostering good relationships between people who are deaf or disabled and those who are not.
Janet Finch-Saunders
Thank you. Action on Hearing Loss have found that 84 per cent of the 575,000 people in Wales who are deaf or having hearing loss difficulties feel that this obviously makes it harder for them to access vital services. Conwy County Borough Council, of course, has the highest proportion in Wales, at 23 per cent, with 27,000 people who require such appropriate support. You may be aware that in terms of the North Wales Deaf Association, the provision funding has been cut. I have written to the authority very recently, and very politely, to request the reinstatement of this much needed funding to support this lifeline. Will you, in your role, please write also to support our quest to have that funding reinstated?
Carl Sargeant
I thank the Member for her question. We are funding Action on Hearing Loss Cymru, working with Royal National Institute of Blind People Cymru, to train and support people with sensory loss to share their personal experiences with service providers in health, social services and the housing sector. An accessible and bilingual virtual sensory toolkit will be created to help organisations be more responsive to the needs of people with sensory losses—over £144,000 over three years from 2014 to 2017. I hope the Member will welcome that, and also, in her letter to the local authority, that she may mention the investment we are currently making as Welsh Government.
