On Monday 26th March we had the honour of being invited to the All Party Parliamentary Group on Assistive Technology (APPGAT) at The Houses of Parliament.
APPGAT is a group made up of MP’s and Peers who are interested in the opportunities presented by assistive and accessible technology. The group is designed to facilitate discussion between the sector and Parliament and make meaningful policy interventions in debates relevant to assistive technology. It is their mission to promote policy that takes advantage of technology to make society more inclusive for all. This event brought together experts, industry leaders, academics, civil servants and parliamentarians for a discussion linking technology, disability and the governments Industrial Strategy.
The event was held at the House of Lords and hosted by Lord Chris Holmes with Sarah Newton MP, Minister for Disabled People as the keynote speaker. Bill Esterson MP, Shadow Minister for Small Business and International Trade was also present. Mr. Esterson who is a supporter of SigncodeUK broached the subject that although the technology was available the feedback he has received is that governmental departments are slow to adopt it. Mr. Esterson hoped that by using the APPGAT meetings that this could be overcome and that existing technology would be adopted as the way forward.
Our thanks to Mr. Esterson for his continued support and to Robert McLaren, Manager for Assistive Technology Policy Connect for his invitation to the meeting.
SigncodeUK are hopeful that implementation of technologies such as ours will enable further independence for Deaf people.