I WOULD like to congratulate all the new councillors elected last week. It is great so see some familiar faces return to office alongside some new faces. I do look forward to working with you going forward.

Within the Scottish Parliament last week, I marked Deaf Awareness Week 2022 at First Minister’s Questions to highlight the key issues the deaf community face. It is estimated that one in five of the population suffer from some form of hearing loss that equates to around one million people in Scotland. We know that deafness does not discriminate and can impact anyone at any time in their lives.

Deafness can come with challenges – many of which we do not see, especially the mental challenges which can often cause feelings of exclusion, invisibility and isolation from educational settings, the workplace and society.

I am pleased the Scottish Parliament was the first to legislate for British Sign Language in 2015 and efforts will continue to ensure Scotland is a good place for all BSL users. More than £1 million from the equality and human rights fund has been provided to the British Deaf Association Scotland, Deafblind Scotland and the Scottish Ethnic Minority Deaf Club, and a further £5 million to organisations that work to promote disability equality.

It is, however, important that we reflect on the barriers that deaf people face every day, and Deaf Awareness Week was a great opportunity to highlight the very valuable work that many people do to raise awareness of the experiences of deaf people. Within the Scottish Parliament, I chair the Cross Party Group on Deafness, working with deaf organisations across Scotland giving first-hand insight to the challenges people with hearing loss face.

I would like to extend my thanks to all deaf organisations for their work during Deaf Awareness Week 2022 and working to ensure the deaf community is visible and included. I have seen how incredibly hard these organisations work and how vital they are for representation of the deaf community.