Agenda and draft minutes

Apologies were received from Councillors Ellie Chard, Joe Welch, Huw Hilditch-Roberts, and Paul Penlington.

Members to declare any personal or prejudicial interests in any business to be conducted at this meeting. (copy attached)

Councillor Emrys Wynne – Chairman of the board for Menter Iaith Sir Dinbych.

Councillor Arwel Roberts – Member of the board for Menter Iaith Sir Dinbych.

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.

There were no urgent matters.

To receive the minutes of the meeting of the committee held on the 02 May 2018 (copy attached).

The minutes of Welsh Language Steering Committee held on 2^nd May 2018 were submitted:

Matters Arising:

·         Bilingual signage was raised and the renaming of streets and houses. Members requested that the relevant officer be asked to attend a future meeting to discuss the matter.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the previous meeting held on 2nd May 2018 be approved as a correct record.

To discuss and agree the contents of the annual Welsh Language Monitoring report for 2017/18. (copy attached)

The Team Leader – Communications and Campaign Management (CCM) presented the Welsh language monitoring report, which highlighted the progress the Council had made with the language standards over the past financial year.

Following the CCM’s introduction and brief overview the chair suggested the committee go through the Welsh language monitoring report and raise any concerns or questions.

The Welsh Language Champions:

·         A query was raised about whether there was a list of the Welsh Language Champions that could be circulated to members. The CCM informed members that a list was on the notice boards across the county’s offices and that list would be circulated. The CCM informed members that the Champions’ duties were internal based to the Council and didn’t deal with external affairs. The CCM advised members that a champion would be coming to a future meeting to discuss the duties they carried out.

Partnership Working:

·         When going through the Partnership Work that the Council undertook, both Councillor Emrys Wynne and Arwel Roberts declared an interest by being on the board of Menter Iaith Sir Dinbych.

Workforce Planning:

·         The CCM informed members that the Council was planning to audit the number of Welsh speakers in the Council. Members queried with the CCM about the numbers of the Welsh speakers in the Council and whether any department caused concern because of the low number of Welsh speakers. In response the CCM informed members that it would be hard to accurately gauge the amount of speakers due to the inconsistent data which had been gathered. Future plans were outlined in regards to ensuring that managers gathered more accurate data of the linguistic abilities of their staff. The CCM informed members that a questionnaire would also be circulated in the future but acknowledged that staff did not always submit accurate responses on their Welsh language abilities for a variety of reasons.

Welsh Language Indicators:

·         The relevance and importance of the indicators used to monitor progress was discussed.

·         Members asked the CCM about the complaints received from the general public. The CCM reported that there have been four complaints in the past financial year which have all been dealt with within the allowed timescales.

·         It was queried whether complaints would be likely to increase as the use of social media increased. The CCM stated that all information that went out on Facebook was bilingual, but the retweets and responses would be in the language of the post being responded to.

Councillor Arwel Roberts commended the detailed report and proposed that the committee agree the content of the report. Councillor Ann Davies seconded the proposal

All members voted to agree the content of the report.

RESOLVED – that the Committee endorse the content of the Welsh Language Monitoring Report.

To consider the Committee’s forward work programme (copy attached).

The chair stated that he would like the meetings of the committee to focus on particular sections of the Welsh language Standards, rather than trying to cover all of the Standards at the same time.

The Team Leader - Communications & Campaign Management (CCM) also suggested that an update by Youth Services on joint Working between Denbighshire Youth Service and the Urdd be added to the work programme.

The Welsh language champion’s role was discussed and it was agreed that it should come to the next meeting.

The Committee agreed to include an item on the forward work programme in respect of the policy on the Welsh language and street naming.

RESOLVED – That subject to the above, the forward work programme be approved.