Lanzarote and La Graciosa will be able to have a sign language interpreter in public services

The Cabildo of Lanzarote, through the Department of Social Welfare and Inclusion, led by Marci Acuña, has formalized the contracting of the Ordinary Service of Interpreter in Spanish Sign Language (ILSE), a measure that will allow guaranteeing accessibility to public services and offering more inclusive attention for deaf and deafblind people from Lanzarote and La Graciosa. 

The implementation of this service also represents a change in the management model, as it will be provided directly by the Cabildo of Lanzarote, thus consolidating a stable line of work within the Insular Strategy for Accessibility and Inclusion of Lanzarote and La Graciosa 2024-2030.

The president of the Cabildo of Lanzarote, Oswaldo Betancort, emphasizes that “accessibility cannot depend on specific actions, but on permanent services that guarantee rights in equal conditions”. In this regard, he adds that “this contracting allows us to move towards a more accessible and prepared administration to serve the diversity of the population of Lanzarote and La Graciosa”. 

For his part, the minister of Social Welfare and Inclusion, Marci Acuña, highlights that “the incorporation of this ordinary ILSE service represents an important step to eliminate communication barriers that continue to condition the autonomy of many deaf and deafblind people”.

Likewise, he points out that “the objective is to facilitate direct access to essential daily procedures, ensuring that any person can function normally in basic areas of their personal, health, work, or administrative life”.

The Ordinary ILSE Service will allow providing support in bureaucratic and administrative procedures, health consultations, hospitalizations, work meetings, legal procedures, or personal matters, through in-person, telephone, online, and video call interpretation. It can be requested via email at [email protected] and by phone at 696 63 90 02.

The contracting of this service also responds to the compliance with current state regulations on accessibility and non-discrimination, especially Law 27/2007, on the recognition of Spanish sign languages and support for the oral communication of deaf people, as well as Royal Decree 674/2023, which obliges public administrations to provide resources that guarantee the use of Spanish sign language and communication support means.