Agenda and draft minutes
Venue: by video conference
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APOLOGIES Minutes: None. |
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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: Councillors Arwel
Roberts and Emrys Wynne declared a personal interest in agenda item 7 as they
both took part in assisting for the preparations for the Eisteddfod yr Urdd. |
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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: Councillor Emrys Wynne highlighted concerns with translations errors in some committee documentation, and queried whether the Corporate Director: Communities could shed light on the concerns. In response the Corporate Director: Communities would look into the matter and raise it with the appropriate service to be dealt with formally. |
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To receive the minutes of the meeting of the committee held on the 9 November 2021 (copy enclosed) Minutes: The minutes
of the Welsh Language Steering Committee held on 8 March 2022 were submitted. Matters
arising – ·
Members
highlighted that they had not received the update which was raised during the
last meeting, the committee administrator responded by reassuring members that
the committee members had received the update, but any observers had not. Any
future updates would be circulated to observers as well. ·
Members
wanted to reiterate their praise of all the work that all officers associated
with ‘More than Words’ had carried out. RESOLVED
that, subject to the
above, the minutes of the previous meeting held on 8 March 2022 be received and
approved as a correct record. |
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WELSH LANGUAGE JOURNEY IN THE COUNCIL To receive a presentation from an officer about their Welsh
language journey in Denbighshire County Council. Minutes: The Welsh Language
Officer (WLO) introduced the Commissioning Officer (Localities) (CO) who has
been learning Welsh whilst working for the Council. The CO thanked the
WLO for the introduction, she informed the committee that she had been working for
the local authority for numerous years. The Welsh Language was very important
to her personally as her father was a Welsh speaker however, due to work
commitments they travelled the world as a family and couldn’t learn the
language. Although her father would always use terms such as ‘cariad’ whilst
she was younger. The CO had attended
two Welsh Language courses and had found them beneficial to her learning
journey, as well as the coffee and chat sessions which the WLO hosted, as it
was good to discuss the learning journey with other learners. The CO made the
committee aware that during the pandemic she worked at the Dolwen residential
care, she understood the vital importance that residents could converse through
the medium of Welsh, especially for those who were suffering from dementia. The committee
praised and endorsed all the hard work and commitment the CO had carried out
through her Welsh language journey. They queried whether there was anything
additional the Council could do to assist with the learning process. The CO
responded that there was nothing additional which could be done to assist with
learning the language.
RESOLVED
that the Welsh
Language Steering Committee note the Commissioning Officer
(Localities) Welsh Language Journey in the Council. |
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WELSH LANGUAGE STANDARDS - STANDARD 94 PDF 202 KB To receive a report by the Welsh Language Officer, regarding the Welsh Language Standards, specifically standard 94 (copy enclosed) Additional documents: Minutes: The Welsh Language
Officer (WLO) presented Welsh Language Standards - Standard 94 (previously
circulated). The WLO
informed the committee that the Council had a duty to fully comply with the
Welsh language Standards, to have a Policy on Awarding grants (Standards 94). The
Council currently
did not have one therefore were in breach
of the Standards. The Welsh Language Standards were introduced in Denbighshire in 2015, as part of a roll out to public sector organisations in Wales. The Standards were created in direct response to the creation of the Welsh Language Measure (2011) and the role of the Welsh Language Commissioner. The Council seems to be complying with the majority of the Standards across the Board. The work of monitoring the compliance rests with the Corporate Communications team, who have corporate responsibilities for the Welsh Language. They are supported by a team of Welsh Language Champions who act voluntarily to promote the corporate approach. The compliance is also subject to random testing by other organisations, including the Welsh Language Commissioner’s office. Even though it seems that we’re complying with the majority of the Standards, the Welsh Language Commissioner regularly carries out spot checks on all public services and recent research shows the majority don’t have a Policy on Awarding Grants. Therefore it’s our duty to produce the policy as part of our efforts to comply with the standards. Not an area which the council were not complainant with, and thanked the WLO with the advice for CET. The matter would hopefully be resolved in summer of 2022. The committee queried grants, as people who applied for grants usually did not understand the importance of the Welsh Language. Should there be a element within grants to ensure that the Welsh Language was not forgotten and given its providence, it was also raised why was the wording regarding the Welsh language in grants ‘less favourable’ rather than equal. The WLO responded that the term favourable was used as the term was used throughout the Welsh Language Standards. RESOLVED
that the Welsh
Language Steering Committee note the information with regards to Welsh Language
Standards - Standard 94. |
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EISTEDDFOD YR URDD - UPDATE PDF 220 KB To receive a report by the Welsh Language Officer providing the committee with an update to Members on preparations for the Eisteddfod and the Council’s role in the event (copy enclosed). Minutes: The Welsh
Language Officer (WLO) presented the members with an update on preparations for the
Eisteddfod and the Council’s role in the event (previously circulated). The WLO guided members through a short
presentation on work carried out in preparation for the Eisteddfod. ·
The
Council, as a critical partner, would have a marquee on a prominent site on the
Eisteddfod field. The theme for the marquee was all about Welsh language,
culture, heritage, tradition, recycling, climate change, and the countryside. ·
The Council’s activities would be carried out
through the medium of Welsh
(Urdd rule) ·
Welsh
speakers and learners would staff the Marquee throughout the week. ·
The
layout of the tent was through, Schools were encouraged to use the theatre
prior to any performances. Previous school students had been invited to perform
at the theatre was well. ·
The
theatre pack timeline would be shared closer to the date. ·
Local
produce would hopefully be using the Tourism/business at the site, there were
plans for a virtual shop window at the tent, which would promote Denbighshire. ·
Plant
bulbs would be shared with people attending the tent. ·
Local
heritage would be shared. ·
The
third space will be allocated to art and craft and an artist in residence, Mari
Gwent, will work there during the week. Sian Fitzgerald, Denbighshire’s
Community Arts Officer is leading on this area an art/Welsh language project is
underway in 11 schools with Eleri Jones and Catrin Williams. The finished work
will be displayed in the council marquee at the Eisteddfod. ·
The
tent would be located at the entrance which would be good for the tent. ·
Tickets
would be free if they were pre booked. The following points would be discussed – ·
The committee endorsed all the hard work which
was carried out by the WLO during the preparations for the Eisteddfod. ·
Councillor Gwyneth Kensler, encouraged that the
Denbigh Plum be included on the local produce at the Council’s tent. The WLO
thanked Councillor Kensler for the suggestion. ·
The committee were happy to see that that the
tickets would be free, especially during the difficult financial times. ·
Some committee members felt uncomfortable with
the title of the children’s show as it was in reference to ’50 Shades of Grey’ and
felt it was inappropriate. The WLO understood the concerns and could pass the
information onto short plays who were organising the show, however, the preparations
were well underway. RESOLVED that the Welsh Language Steering Committee note
the content with the report. |
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WELSH LANGUAGE CONSIDERATIONS FOR THE LDP 2018 TO 2033 PDF 131 KB To receive a report by the Planning officer regarding the first steps in formulating a new local
policy on Welsh Language and culture for the next Local Development Plan (LDP)
2018 to 2033 (copy enclosed). Additional documents: Minutes: The Planning Officer (PO) introduced the Welsh Language Considerations for the LDP 2018 to 2033
Background Paper (previously circulated) Members of the Strategic Planning Group (SPG)
discussed an initial report on the Welsh Language Background Paper on 17th January 2022, see Appendix 1. It was felt
crucial to seek the view of the Welsh Language Steering Committee early in the
process of formulating the forthcoming local policy for the next LDP 2018 to
2033 • In process of preparing LDP 2018 to 2033 • LDP guides new development • LDP has to align with national policy • LDP has to be supported by evidence • Background papers point to evidence and
sources, the information can be shared, and wanting the WLC members any have
input on the matter. The SPG recognised the difficulty in
supporting the Welsh Language in the new LDP and particularly the difficulties
in linking new development to the impact on Welsh Language. SPG members did not
consider it appropriate in the LDP to allocate parts of Denbighshire as
sensitive in terms of Welsh Language. The SPG accept a policy requesting a
formal linguistic assessment with every planning application cannot be included
in the LDP 2018 to 2033. LDP policies that require financial contributions for
maintaining the Welsh Language were accepted by the SPG as being difficult to
evidence; as any financial contributions must be directly linked to the impact
of the new development, its structure. There was no evidence available in
Denbighshire that links new building construction or its impact, to residents’ linguistic abilities. The SPG supports
officer recommendations to broaden the linguistic background paper to include
social and cultural identity of settlements. SPG members recommend noting the
number of speakers when presenting linguistic data rather than just using
percentage figures. National guidance on developing Welsh
Language LDP policies was provided in Technical Advice Note (TAN) 20. It states
that the impact on Welsh Language and the sustainability of communities has to
be considered when preparing an LDP. Since TAN 20 was introduced, in 2017, the
focus of incorporating Welsh Language into LDP’s has shifted. It was recognised
that creating and sustaining communities, so that they have a strong social and
cultural fabric, enables the Welsh Language to thrive. National policy now
recommends that as part of place making policies consideration was given to
encouraging cohesive communities with a distinct sense of place and identity,
which would support the Welsh Language. It was therefore recommended that any
background paper in support of the LDP 2018 to 2033 collates information on the
cultural and social fabric of settlements as well as its built local character
and linguistic data. Reference to the identity and cultural aspects of the
community were recommended so that they can be cross referenced to other
reports detailing information on settlements. The background paper can also recommend how
policies in the LDP 2018 to 2033 should be drafted. It was suggested that the
background paper promote consideration of the social and cultural fabric of the
community. The LDP can support community groups. The committee discussed the following in
further detail – ·
The
committee queried the powers that they had in regards to the report, officers
clarified that the report aimed to receive suggestions from the committee which
would then be fed back to the SPG which could then impact on the LDP. ·
The
committee were uncomfortable with the length of the LDP as many aspects with
the Welsh Language could change in 15 years. The committee suggested that
planning policies could be implemented to further safeguard the Welsh Language. · The committee suggested ... view the full minutes text for item 8. |
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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. Members raised the following matters – · The appointment of chair and vice chair would need to be decided upon. · Officers agreed to discuss any additional items for the committee outside of the meeting. RESOLVED that, subject to
the above, the Committee’s Forward Work Programme be received and noted. |