Legal aid solicitors have this week welcomed a U-turn by the Legal Services Commission (LSC) over covering the cost of interpreters in publicly-funded cases for clients who are deaf or hard of hearing.

The LSC previously refused to pay the costs of British Sign Language (BSL) interpreters, although 50,000 of the nine million deaf people in the UK use the official BSL system, which has been recognised as an official language by the Department for Work & Pensions since 2003.


However, following a campaign by the Law Society, Legal Aid Practitioners Group (LAPG), the Disability Rights Commission and RNID, the LSC has agreed to pay £95 per hour as a disbursement.


LAPG director Richard Miller backed the change. 'Firms must make reasonable adjustments to make their services accessible for disabled clients, but we have always considered that this went beyond a reasonable adjustment,' he said.


Law Society President Kevin Martin welcomed the news but said more work should be done to provide access to justice to deaf people and others who come under the disability discrimination legislation.


RNID senior legal officer Simon Robinson also welcomed the decision, but called on the LSC to be more flexible in funding the use of other experts such as lipspeakers.


Mike Jeacock, executive director of service delivery at the LSC, said: 'Deaf clients are among the most vulnerable members of society. It was therefore imperative that we ensure they have effective access to justice.'