Video relay for 999 emergencies

16 February 2021

Ofcom consulted on introducing emergency video relay. This would allow British Sign Language users to contact the police, ambulance and fire services in BSL.

Many people, including deaf people and telecoms companies, told us they supported the idea. However, some issues have arisen including how to make sure that enough money is collected to pay for it. We are doing a short further consultation, and have made a BSL video.

The full consultation document in English is available.

Emergency video relay –  further consultation

You can read a transcript (PDF, 171.6 KB) of this video.

Here are the three short videos we made about the previous consultation.

1. We want to hear what you think of our proposal for video relay for 999 emergencies

2. How video relay for 999 emergencies would work

3. Two stories about Deaf people in 999 emergencies

You can also read a transcript (PDF, 152.4 KB) of the three videos.

How to respond

We want to hear what you think. To respond in BSL:

  • Send us a video of you signing your response (up to five minutes); or
  • upload a video of you signing your response to YouTube (or another video hosting platform) and send us a link.

The email address is emergencyBSL@ofcom.org.uk.

If you have any questions please get in touch with us. You can call us via text relay on 020 7783 4079, or via video relay.