The All Party Parliamentary Group on Deafness

Prior to the 2024 general election RNID provided the secretariat to the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Deafness.

The APPG Deafness is a cross-party-party group of parliamentarians (MPs in the House of Commons and Peers in the House of Lords) who come together to discuss relevant issues and agreeing joint parliamentary actions.

The group met regularly to:

understand the issues facing deaf people and people with hearing loss
campaign for policy change in Parliament.

Previous officers

Chair

Lilian Greenwood MP (Labour)

Vice chairs

Marion Fellows MP (Scottish National Party)
Ian Mearns MP (Labour)
Sir Mike Penning MP (Conservative)
Tommy Sheppard MP (Scottish National Party)
Lord Shipley (Liberal Democrat).

Re-establishing the APPG Deafness

Given the role that the APPG has played in a number of positive policy developments (see below) RNID is eager to work with MPs and Peers to re-establish the APPG in the new Parliament.

As part of its role providing the Secretariat to the APPG, RNID has always been committed to working with a range of different partners. We want to work with a broad range of organisations supporting people who are deaf, have hearing loss and tinnitus to create an agreed programme of work to put to MPs and Peers on the APPG.

For further information about the APPG’s work or to find how you can get involved, please get in contact with Robert Geaney at [email protected].

Past successes

Over recent years the APPG on Deafness has:

The APPG was the key parliamentary forum through which support for the BSL Act 2022 was coordinated.
Successfully campaigned to change the law to give ministers the ability to require subtitles on on-demand programmes.
Pushed for the creation and delivery of NHS England’s Action Plan on Hearing Loss, which led to NICE guidance on hearing loss, revised criteria for Cochlear Implants and improvements in the provision of NHS audiology services.
Successfully lobbied for lifting the Government’s cap on Access to Work awards which disproportionately impacted deaf people who need British Sign Language interpreters in the workplace.
Called for British Sign Language to be part of the national curriculum in support of the National Deaf Children’s Society’s campaign.
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the APPG on Deafness has called on the Government to distribute clear personal protective equipment (PPE) for workers within health and social care settings. This resulted in the Government providing 250,000 clear masks to frontline NHS and social care staff.