Agenda and draft minutes
Venue: Confrence Room 1A, County Hall, Ruthin
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APOLOGIES Minutes: There were no apologies received. |
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DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST PDF 116 KB Members to declare any personal or prejudicial interests in any business to be conducted at this meeting. Minutes: There were no Declarations of Interest. |
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URGENT MATTERS AS AGREED BY THE CHAIR Notice of items which, in the opinion of the Chair, should be considered at the meeting as a matter of urgency pursuant to Section 100B(4) of the Local Government Act, 1972. Minutes: There were no urgent matters. |
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To receive the minutes of the meeting of the committee held on the 9 July 2019. Minutes: The minutes were of the Welhs Language Steering Group meeting held 09 July 2019 were submitted. RESOLVED: that the minutes of the previous meeting held on 09 July
2019 be received and approves as a correct record. |
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WELSH LANGUAGE COMMISSIONER FEEDBACK PDF 245 KB To receive an update on compliance checks carried out by the Welsh Language Commissioner. Minutes: The
Team Leader for Communications and Campaign Management (TLCCM) explained that
they would create an annual report that reviewed emails, complaints, phone
calls, website etc. The latest results were very positive. He
advised that there was a small issues regarding emails, whereby several Welsh
emails were sent into the county and only one was responded to in Welsh. Documents,
books, policies etc. were all bilingual, though they needed to ensure services
consider the level of Welsh for each role. Members
agreed that it may be beneficial for the Welsh Language Commissioner to attend
a council briefing meeting, or full council. The
Welsh Language Commissioner (WLC) thanked all for the invite to the meeting. He
also thanked Councillor Graham Timms for introducing him in Welsh. The WLC
wanted to updated members of the current situation, he introduced Dylan Jones
from the Welsh Language Commissioner team. The WLC also wanted to inform
members of some changes that would be happening. Members
were advised that every year a report was published which reviewed standards
within the Local Authority, complaints and how they were dealt with. In terms
of change, they had seen a big difference. Since appointing a Welsh Language, internally
there had been a big difference. It
was highlighted that a big change internally for Denbighshire was the moving of
the Leisure Service. It would need to be monitored to ensure the same level of
standards are applied. The
WCL advised that they reviewed recruitment between June and December 2018.
There were 85 roles advertised in that time, 75 were Welsh desirable and 10
Welsh essential. The WLC advised that there should be further categories on the
job in terms of Welsh, the current process needed to be reviewed. The
WLC explained some of the changed he had implemented since starting in the
role. He
said he needed to ensure resources were available to conduct thorough and
proper investigations and research. This
was because the commissioner could conduct an investigation without getting any
information from the Local Authority. Once an investigation had started it
would have to be completed in full. The
process was he commissioner would complete an investigation, present a report
to the Local Authority, the Local Authority would accept the problem and would
review how they could stop the same problem in the future. The
WLC and members highlighted the struggle Ireland were having with the Gaelic
language, and the worry that official languages were dying out. He
did not want Wales to experience the same issues, roughly 9% of welsh speakers
use welsh all day, every day, the Welsh Government have said they want the
figure to be 20% by 2050. The
WLC said he wanted to complete some work regarding Welsh Language Skill level.
He explained that during a recent visit to a school, it was clear that sixth
form students could understand Welsh but struggled to respond in Welsh. He felt
there needed to be something in place to ensure students continue to speak
Welsh after education. Students
leave education not knowing that the Welsh language was a skill. This was why
the WLC wanted to focus on recruitment policies, he felt that if 75 jobs were
listed as Welsh desirable then not enough thought had been put into the
assessment of the role. Councillor
Huw Hilditch-Roberts agreed that standards were important but was only the
start. He felt that attitude was a priority however great work had already been
done in the LA. As a county, there had been major investments in schools, Ysgol Carreg Emlyn, Ysgol y Llys etc. since, Welsh Education numbers had ... view the full minutes text for item 5. |
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PROGRESS WITH THE WELSH LANGUAGE STANDARDS (SELF ASSESSMENT) To consider an update by the Team Leader – Communications and Campaign Management on the Self Assessment. Minutes: RESOVLED: that members had discussed the item in the
previous item and agreed to continue to the next agenda item. |
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EISTEDDFOD YR URDD UPDATE To receive an update by the Team Leader – Communications and Campaign Management on progress with the Eisteddfod yr Urdd. Minutes: The
Team Leader for Communication and Campaign Management (TLCCM) advised members
that 1,600 people had taken part in the ‘gwyl cyhoeddi’. He continued to say that many schools had taken
part and the Urdd were really impressed by Rhyl’s response.
Business
and Tourism – the strategic group had many ideas, for example they wanted Llandegla bike centre to attend, SC2, open stalls that
promote their business. Art
and Design – the idea was to have something happening throughout the whole
week. An ongoing design competition for example that enticed people to return. Sports
area – 5x60 staff were bringing different sports in throughout the week, with
equipment. Schools
– Primary school shows were already being planned, the shows were open to years
5 and 6, and there would also be a high school show. RESOLVED: that the update on the Eisteddfod
be received and noted by the committee. |
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WELSH LANGUAGE STRATEGY - BUSINESS AND ECONOMY To receive a presentation by the Economic and Business Development Team and Programme Manager on the Business side with the Welsh Language Standards. Minutes: The
Economic and Business Development Team Manager (EBDTM) presented a PowerPoint
presentation to the committee on the Welsh in Business Pilot Project. Firstly,
the EBDTM noted that majority of the response said it would cost money, however
the case study had examples to prove that it would be financially beneficial. For
the purpose of the minutes, a video was played to the committee The
video discussed support and advice regarding the Welsh Language and also Local
Welsh Products. Case
Studies – the programme encouraged businesses to engage with staff. For
example, Oriel House now provided 100% Welsh Weddings, statistics proved that
productivity increased. The
EBDTM highlighted that the demand for Social Media Courses had risen. He
also advised that the EBT team was much smaller which could cause delays in
processes. Members
were advised that they were looking for local businesses to join the DCC tent
at the Eisteddfod. The
committee were advised that the team had been working on established retailers.
Working on how business and shops can be more friendly and welcoming, music
etc. The
Chair noted that businesses played a vital part in using welsh in the
community. There was a need to encourage public facing staff to engage in the
Welsh Language. He thanked the EBDTM for attending and welcomed the team back
to future meetings. To
conclude the agenda item, it was noted that the EBDTM was leaving the authority
and this would be his final meeting. The committee thanked him for his work and
wished him well. RESOVLED: that the committee received and noted the update
regarding the Welsh language Strategy. |
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FORWARD WORK PROGRAMME PDF 234 KB To consider the Committee’s forward work programme (copy attached). Minutes: The
Committee’s Forward Work Programme was presented for consideration. RESOLVED: that the committee’s forward work programme be
received and noted. Meeting Closed 13:00pm |