Agenda item

To submit a report by the Assistant Chief Executive (Partnerships, Community and Service Improvements) in relation to the above.

Submitted – a progress report by the Assistant Chief Executive (Partnerships, Community and Service Improvements) on the use of Welsh within the Council’s Administration.

The Portfolio Holder for Education, Youth, Libraries and Culture said that he was representing the Portfolio Holder for Transformation and the Welsh Language as Councillor I Williams was unable to attend the meeting. He said that the County Council adopted the Welsh Language Policy at its meeting held on 12 May, 2016 and whilst adopting the policy it was also resolved to adopt paragraph 3.2.4 of the Welsh Language Policy as noted within the report and states that a progress report will be presented to Scrutiny at the same time as the annual report on the operation of the Welsh Language Policy. The County’s Welsh Language Strategy also has a commitment towards working to ensure that Welsh is the County Council’s main language for administration for the period 2016-2022.

The Policy and Strategy Manager gave an overview of the work undertaken during the last 12 months as regard to the development and the promoting of the use of Welsh within the Council’s Administration. The short term aim is to increase the oral use of Welsh by encouraging staff to speak more Welsh, whether they are fluent Welsh speakers, good learners or less experienced learners; the workplace and informal settings can be used to practise. She noted that in September 2016, the Housing Service was the first service to be selected to work intensively with them by establishing a baseline of the use of Welsh within the service. An Action Plan was agreed with the Housing Service Management Team in order to reach objectives of the use of Welsh in the workplace. Language Champions were identified within the Housing Service and they have voluntarily produced and circulated a questionnaire and conducted sessions for their colleagues in order to establish their language needs and support. The Policy and Strategy Manager further reported that the next service to receive support as regard to encouraging staff to speak more Welsh within the workplace will be the Leisure Service and the Public Protection Service.

A brief presentation was afforded by two Language Champions from the Housing Service to the meeting. They said that 8 Language Champions have voluntarily afford their service to promoting and encouraging the use of Welsh within the Housing Service. A recommendation was made during discussions to create a generic email address within the service for the Welsh Champions so that staff have the opportunity to share ideas or ask for any assistance needed. Menter Môn was arranged to attend a staff meeting of the Housing Service to promote the Welsh Language and share the history of the language over centuries. The Language Champions gave feedback on a recent ‘Welsh Wednesday Session’ arranged for staff within the Housing Service to the meeting.

The Chair thanked the two Language Champions for their presentation and commitment to improve the use of Welsh within the Housing Service.

The Committee considered the report and raised the following main matters:-

•   Clarification was sought as to why the Officer’s considered that the rolling programme is an example of good practice. The Assistant Chief Executive (Partnerships, Community and Service Improvements) responded that the aim is that the Council uses Welsh within its Administration, however the staffs’ willingness will need to be ensured and encouraged to use the Welsh language within each service of the Council. She noted that Bangor University has afforded training sessions for Council staff to attend. The Policy and Strategy Manager said that the aim is to develop a sustainable working model within services of the Council and to learn from the trails of promoting the use of Welsh language on a day to day basis. She noted that it is important that relevant methods of monitoring are in place to monitor progress.

•   Questions were raised as to whether further practical steps can be taken to increase the level of Welsh within the workplace of the Council. The Assistant Chief Executive (Partnerships, Community and Service Improvements) responded that she considered that a pattern of statements whilst answering emails could be afforded to staff; there are practical things that the Council could consider. She considered that there has been a reluctance by a lot of staff in the past to use the Welsh language but they must be encouraged and supported to be more confident in speaking and using the Welsh language on a daily basis.

•   Clarification was sought as to how the aim of using Welsh within the Administration of the Council can raise customer service in accordance with the Authority’s corporate aims. The Policy and Strategy Manager responded that if the Council afford bilingual skills to the staff they are going to be in a better position to offer a better standard of customer service in the language choice of the customer and to make sure that the Authority has the capacity for the future to meet the Welsh Language Standards.

•   Questions asked if the monitoring process highlighted within the report adequate to meet the challenge of the using Welsh within the Administration of the Council. The Assistant Chief Executive (Partnerships, Community and Service Improvements) responded that the monitoring process is addressed within the Language Task Group. The Strategic Forum also challenge the Council on the progress made as regard to the use of Welsh within the Council.

•   The Chair said that he had received questions by Councillor Robin Williams who was unable to attend this meeting due to work commitment. The questions received was whether there is a facility available for staff as regard to technical words and phrases within specific fields of work? The Policy and Strategy Manager responded that the Authority has been affording staff the opportunity to attend intense Welsh course for staff ‘Cymraeg Clir’. She also noted that staff may use the facility ‘Cysgeir’ and ‘Cysill’ available within the Council whilst preparing and writing reports.

It was RESOLVED to accept the report.

ACTION : That an annual monitoring report be submitted to the Scrutiny Committee.