To ask the Minister of Health to detail the number of employees in the Northern Health and Social Care Trust with a qualification in sign language, broken down by level.

The Northern Health and Social Care Trust have advised that they do not hold the relevant information pertaining to these questions and therefore are not able to report.

I can confirm that my Department commissions a regional communication contract for individuals who are d/Deaf and d/Deafblind. This contract provides sign language interpreters both on a face to face basis and remotely via video link across 24 hours a day, 7 days per week. The interpreters are accessed via the Health and Social Care staff for all appointments and communications with individuals who use British Sign Language and Irish Sign Language as their first language.