Agenda item

To consider a report by the Team Leader – Communications and Campaign Management (copy enclosed) detailing the work carried out in relation to the strategic development of the Welsh Language in Denbighshire, in line with national legislation and the Council’s own Welsh Language Strategy.

Given that it was the first meeting of the Welsh Language Steering Committee officers thought it would be useful to provide some context together with an update on the Welsh Language Standards and the work undertaken in the last few years, particularly around legislative requirements.  Whilst the Committee’s work focused on the Welsh Standards, items on the agenda also included the Welsh in Education Strategic Plan and the More Than Words Framework in order to make members aware of the work being undertaken via other forums in the wider community.

The Team Leader – Communications and Campaign Management submitted a report (previously circulated) and gave a power point presentation which covered –

·         the historic position when individual local authorities developed their own plans for Welsh Language which varied greatly in terms of quality

·         new legislation in the form of the Welsh Language Measure (Wales) 2011 and the intention to ensure the Welsh and English languages were treated equally

·         the creation of a Welsh Language Commissioner and development of Welsh Language Standards

·         169 Welsh Language Standards having been issued categorised under the themes: correspondence, promotion, policy making and internal administration which the Council had responded to positively

·         the role and powers of the Welsh Language Commissioner in ensuring local authorities conformed with the Welsh Language Standards

·         the Welsh Language Strategy (approved February 2017) having highlighted five key areas for development with the aim of increasing the number of Welsh speakers in Denbighshire by 0.5% over the next five years with a view to considering a longer term target to increase the number of Welsh speakers over the next fifteen years, and

·         strategic responsibility for the Welsh Language Standards together with the day to day handling of Welsh language issues.

Members’ attention was drawn to the report and other measures to strengthen and promote Welsh language within the authority including: appointment of Welsh Language Champions; staff drop-in sessions; working Welsh lanyards; bilingual e-mail signatures; Cysill and Microsoft Office in Welsh; telephone answering; intranet; collating information about staff; council’s main telephone line; staff excellence awards; culture/ethos of the organisation; mystery shopper exercise and introducing Welsh Language compliance in service challenges.  A Welsh Language Officer post was currently being advertised to further assist in the strategic development of the Welsh language in the authority.  Whilst both staff and councillors had responded positively to the Welsh Standards there was always room for improvement.

Members discussed various aspects of the report with officers including –

·         Welsh Language Strategy – reference was made to the 0.5% target which some considered had been set too low.  Given the decline in the number of Welsh speakers over recent years it was important to set a realistic target in the shorter term (the outcome would be measured by the census in 2021) and the intention was to set a more challenging target over the longer term.  A multi-faceted approach across all age ranges was being undertaken and whilst youngsters in the education system was a significant growth area, the longer term view was to retain Welsh speakers in Denbighshire through employment opportunities and work with adult education classes

·         Staff Excellence Awards – the awards to honour staff for their commitment and dedication to developing the Welsh language within the council had been well received and officers reported upon the positive impact of past winners and elaborated upon their continued work in championing the Welsh language both within their own service and other service areas, sharing best practice and promotion of the Welsh language

·         Collating information about staff – when self-assessing their linguistic skills many staff were reluctant to accurately reflect their ability to converse in Welsh due to various reasons, including confidence in their own abilities, and the Strategy included the need to build staff confidence to use the Welsh language and encourage and support staff in that regard.  Some staff were also worried that they might be asked to take on particular duties such as designated Welsh speaker/translator within the service in addition to the job they were employed to do and it was important to be mindful of that.  It was hoped that future self-assessments would more accurately reflect the linguistic skills of staff

·         Translation of draft reports – the issue of draft reports being published in English only had been raised previously.  It was clarified that the purpose of the Committee was to focus on the Welsh Language Standards and the Welsh Language Strategy.  As there was currently no requirement for draft documents to be published bilingually there was no negative impact on the Standards in terms of compliance and it was not an issue for the Committee

·         Conwy Translation Services/In-house Translation – some issues had been raised regarding the quality of translations, both for committee documents and some recent press releases, and officers elaborated upon the translation service provided by Conwy County Borough Council together with the reliance on the goodwill of staff for particular in-house translations when there was an urgent need to respond promptly to a particular situation, such as providing information and updates during the recent adverse weather conditions.  If the Council felt the accuracy of those urgent translations should be given priority, consideration would need to be given in the budget setting process as to how to resource that out of hours provision.  Members recognised the difficulties in terms of regional dialect and particular style in the provision of translation services and officers reported upon the advantages of the translation service provided by Conwy in terms of consistent terminology with many of the translators being very locally based.  Complaints and queries regarding the standard of Welsh translations had reduced and tended to focus primarily on style and wording preferences as opposed to inaccuracies.  Recent comments made, including concerns over the translation of council minutes, had been taken up directly with Conwy and were being addressed.  Councillor Huw Hilditch-Roberts felt that further work should be undertaken with regard to the translation service provided by Conwy in order to provide assurance in terms of quality standards and best value.

RESOLVED that the contents of the report be received and noted.