A very big thank you to Wendy Callaghan, Des Masterson, Jeff Brattan-Wilson, Cherry Day, Lydia Boydell, Lianne Lusty, Phil Sewel, Mariella Reina and Rob Wilks. The money raised will be used to carry on advising Deaf clients, in spite of cuts to legal aid.

There is still time to sponsor the team, just go to the Virgin Money page. We are grateful for all donations.

Our team members so far are:- Jeff Brattan-Wilson, Rob Wilks, Lydia Boydell, Mariella Reina, Lianne Lusty, Cherry Day, Phil Sewell, Wendy Callaghan, Des Masterson, Melissa Davis, Genevieve Brooks-Johnson. Thank you so much to all of you for giving up your time to raise much needed funds for RAD DLC.

Background

Deaf people who use British Sign Language (BSL) as a first language often have poor literacy levels (the average reading age for Deaf school leavers is 8-9 years). This means that they cannot understand information leaflets and correspondence, or access telephone helplines using a textphone.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission’s report into the provision of advice services in the UK, “Responding to discrimination: the geography and geometry of advice provision in England, Scotland and Wales” was published in July 2009. On pages 105-107, it found that:

• “ … the advice system of CABs, law societies, union sources and private firms of solicitors are often still inaccessible to profoundly Deaf customers in spite of the DDA having been on the statute books since 1995”
• “ … when disabled people are treated as a homogenous group then the specific obstacles facing Deaf customers and those with learning difficulties often slip through the net.”

Legal aid cuts

As a result of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012, from March 2013, the areas of welfare benefits and employment, incidentally the areas of law most in demand by our clientele, all legal aid funding will be cut, except in appeal cases to the Upper Tribunal and above where there is a point of law for welfare benefits, and in employment matters involving discrimination.

This means that Deaf clients will not get any free legal advice in relation to claiming Disability Living Allowance, Personal Independence Payments, Universal Credit, Employment & Support Allowance, nor bedroom tax and the benefit cap. Where can they now go to receive advice on claiming the benefits they are entitled to and appealing any decisions?

What can be done?

We have calculated that the approximate cost for RAD DLC to deal with one welfare benefits enquiry for 1 hour is £27. We need to raise this money as we do not currently receive any funding to provide this type of legal advice, and are unable to rely on central funds.

We would like to raise at least £1,000 in order to be able to give a total of 40 clients one-off advice on their welfare benefit issues. Obviously, the more we raise, the more clients we can advise.

Please donate as generously as you are able. Just go to: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/RADDLC

Many thanks for your support!

The statistics were gathered as part of a wider report which aims to increase understanding of how Deaf people prefer to receive legal advice.

Rob Wilks, Director of Legal Services, said: “the statistics prove that specialist legal advice from a solicitor who uses BSL is vital in order for Deaf people to be able to fully understand what can be very complex legal language – talking person to person rather than through a third party.

“At the Deaf Law Centre, as well as in-person advice, we use webcam portals so that a Deaf person anywhere in the country can receive legal advice from a solicitor who uses BSL.”

In response to the survey findings RAD Deaf Law Centre has launched a website to offer law firms and legal advice services the opportunity to learn five BSL phrases a day for the duration of Deaf Awareness Week: http://www.deaflawcentre.org.uk/deafawareness.

Wilks said:

“We hope the website will be a fun way for law firms to celebrate Deaf Awareness Week, as well as raising awareness of the needs of Deaf people and encouraging firms to train legal advisers in BSL to ensure that Deaf people have as equal access to legal services as hearing people.”

Deaf Awareness Week is taking place from Monday 6th – 12th May 2013.

Ends

Editor’s notes:

• RAD Deaf Law Centre, which launched in July 2012, operates on a national level providing a range of services across England, Wales and Scotland. It aims to make the law work for Deaf people, by working to ensure justice and equal access to the law and legal services through advice, representation, education and training.
• 60 people were interviewed online as part of the survey.
• The phrases on the British Sign Language phrase website are sponsored by Signworld (http://www.signworldlearn.com/).

BSL translation coming soon.

The Royal Association for Deaf people (RAD) is delighted to be the first Deaf organisation in the UK to launch a call-centre style webcam portal to allow Deaf people to contact its Deaf Law Centre in BSL online.

The webcam portal enhances the previous system of advising Deaf clients via webcam using various popular instant messaging software such as Windows Live Messenger, ooVoo and Skype. It removes the need for individual accounts to be held by the Deaf client and by RAD DLC legal advisers. Clients can now call their adviser in RAD DLC in the same way as a hearing person would telephone their legal adviser, albeit with the use of a webcam and/or text chat.

The webcam portal utilises Video Relay Services technology developed by AuPix. It uses a Total Conversation softphone known as “APS-50”, which has been optimised for users who are Deaf or hard of hearing and features video, voice and real time text communication. Because the APS-50 has been developed around the needs of its users, a range of features such as a flashing screen and an external flashing device have been incorporated to alert users of incoming calls. If it is outside business hours or staff are not available to take calls, clients will be given the option of leaving a video message.

The webcam portal can be found here. First-time users will need to download the plugin. Once downloaded, click on “Make Call”.

The webcam portal is also now accessible via iPad or iPhone using the TCPhone App. When you have downloaded the App and set up your account, you can call RAD DLC on 01633 215099 via webcam and/or text chat.

Staff affected have been contacted, and are not expected to travel to Newport tomorrow.

Any clients affected (i.e. those with an appointment today with Newport staff) will be contacted directly by our Referrals team. Appointments with our London staff will be going ahead as planned.

If you have any queries, please email Rob Wilks or text 07738 802686.

Staff affected have been contacted, and are not expected to travel to Newport today.

Any clients affected (i.e. those with an appointment today with Newport staff) will be contacted directly by our Referrals team. Appointments with our London staff will be going ahead as planned.

If you have any queries, please email Rob Wilks or text 07738 802686.

Staff affected have been contacted, and are not expected to travel to Newport today. They will need to take annual leave, TOIL or agree with their manager to make up the time later.

Any clients affected (i.e. those with an appointment today with Newport staff) will be contacted directly by our Referrals team. Appointments with our London staff will be going ahead as planned.

If you have any queries, please email Rob Wilks or text 07738 802686.

If you think you may need help with employment, welfare benefits, housing and debts. Do get in touch as soon as possible.

For more information, please read this post.

Those on a low income are currently entitled to free legal help, advice and assistance under a government scheme called Legal Help, which covers the cost of legal help, advice and assistance.

It is well known that we are living in an age of austerity where the government has had to make a number of cuts to a range of services including Legal Help. From April 2013 free legal advice will no longer be made available under the Legal Help scheme for the aforementioned domains.

If you are facing problems with Housing, Debt, Welfare Benefits or Employment and feel you may need legal help, advice and assistance, we urge you to contact us before the April 2013 deadline as you may be entitled to this advice free of charge. Any legal advice given after this date may result in charges, which you will have to pay yourself.

RAD Deaf Law Centre can assess your eligibility for Legal Help if you are unsure as to whether or not you meet the Government’s criteria for free legal help, and let you know the outcome instantly.