To ask the Secretary of State for Health what action is being undertaken by his Department to address the shortage of registered sign language interpreters for deaf patients.

The Department provides grant aid to the Council for the Advancement of Communication with Deaf People, which arranges courses in communication with deaf people and maintains a register of interpreters. The Department has also, for a number of years, grant-aided the British Sign Language Training Authority. The availability of sign language interpreters to deaf people seeking health care is a matter for local health service management, who are best placed to determine and provide for the local need for such a service.