Amy Bowen looks at the latest news in brief…

A CAMPAIGN has been launched to officially recognise British sign language (BSL)
If successful, society would be legally obliged to accommodate for the needs of deaf people. A spokesperson for the Federation of Deaf People said: “Deaf people do not have total access to public information, education and medical care. Equal access to BSL would change this.”

There are 250,000 BSL ‘speakers' in Britain, more than speak Welsh. It is the first language of 70,000, and 64 per cent of those cannot speak English fluently.

A COMPROMISE over university top-up fees is being developed.
It is thought universities will charge relatively well off students the full fees, and redistribute a third of this money as bursaries to poorer students.

FEW West Midlands workers speak European languages; meaning businesses are missing out.
Advantage West Midlands says the region is the worst in the country for language skills. They want large companies to help smaller ones to boost their share in exports.

HALF of all UK homes are now on-line according to Oftel.
Consumer research found dial-up internet access is cheaper in the UK, and there are fewer metered services than in Europe.