Calling for communication for all

Dr Hannah Tweed discusses the inclusive communications campaign the ALLIANCE launched in early 2025, and how you can get involved.

In early 2025, many of our members and partners shared concerns with us about difficulties in accessing health and social care, attending education or work, and participating in society.  

At the centre of many people’s experiences were repeated barriers to inclusive communication. This ranged from people being refused documents in Easy Read, large print or Braille, to assumptions that people could “do without” BSL-English interpretation because they had hearing aids. These issues often led to subsequent delays in accessing key services.  

Communication for all means sharing information in a way that everybody can understand. It includes all forms of communication – written, online, phone calls, and face to face. It’s a gateway to accessing all our human rights. Yet recent ALLIANCE research demonstrates that there is a postcode lottery of training and provision.  

The ALLIANCE Scottish Sensory Hub brought together a group of members and supporters interested in inclusive communication. Together, we formed the “More than Words: Communication for All” campaign. Our supporters agreed that there was a need for change. After all, we had the example of the BSL (Scotland) Act and its influence, to show that Scotland has the potential to lead the way in providing communication for all.  

More than 200 organisations and individuals signed up to the More than Words campaign. Earlier this month, we took our calls for action to the Scottish Parliament. Our key asks are for public recognition of equal communication as a right, legislation to protect those rights, and better training and monitoring. 

Over 20 MSPs joined us as we took our call to the First Minister to consider legal change to enshrine the right to inclusive communication in Scots law.  

Our next steps are to drill down into the detail of the policy asks, and to propose concrete next steps for national and local government to improve communication for all. Some of those asks are for large-scale legislative change and will sit with the Scottish Parliament. Others are within the remit of public bodies. We welcome those local authority partners who have expressed interest in working with us on local solutions and improvements. 

Heading into the 2026 Scottish Parliament election season, the temptation is to focus on the “quick wins” rather than longer term solutions. Yet most of us will need communication support at some point in our lifetimes. To properly enable people in Scotland to live well and enjoy our rights, it is essential decision-makers support communication for all, for the long term and across political boundaries – because communication is about more than just words.  

If you want to be an advocate for change, here’s some of the ways you can help us: share your experiences, inform policy proposals, or make changes in your communities or workplaces. We would welcome your support.  

You can email sensory@alliance-scotland.org.uk or call us 0141 404 0231. If another format works better for you, please let us know. 

For more information on the campaign, visit: https://www.alliance-scotland.org.uk/more-than-words-communication-for-all/ (information available in BSL, English, and Easy Read). 

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