Agenda item

To submit a report by the Director of Function (Council Business)/Monitoring Officer.

The report of the Director of Function (Council Business)/Monitoring Officer was presented for consideration by the Committee.

The Portfolio Member for Education and the Welsh Language said that the Council’s current Welsh language policy was adopted in 2016 when statutory Welsh language standards came into force, since then, the understanding of the standards has matured, and the Authority’s practices in relation to the language have developed significantly.  The Welsh language policy affects all those who deal with the Council and the draft policy is designed to meet the statutory requirements of the Welsh language standards.  He further said that the draft policy contributes to the aims of the Council Plan and the Welsh language promotion strategy.

The following were points of discussion by the committee :-

·     Questions were raised as to the main challenges of implementing a Welsh language policy.  The Portfolio Member for Education and the Welsh Language responded that whilst 55.8% of the Island population can speak Welsh, the Authority is fortunate that recruitment to posts broadly attracts local people with the ability to meet the Welsh language criteria.  Whilst acknowledging that some posts are difficult to fill with Welsh first language speakers, the Authority affords training to improve levels of language ability.  He further said there is strong enthusiasm within the Authority staff towards the Welsh language and numerous staff are also enrolling to improve their language skills.  The Head of Democracy said that this is a review of the Welsh Language Policy and staff are familiar with the Welsh language standards of the Authority.  During the induction sessions of new staff, they are made aware of the Welsh language standards and information is also included within the Authority’s internal website for staff. 

·     Questions were raised as to how has the Council’s practices changed since the Welsh language standards came into force in 2016?  The Portfolio Member for Education and the Welsh Language responded that the Welsh language skills has been incorporated within posts available within the Council.  He further said that the culture of the Authority has changed with meetings conducted through the medium of Welsh with translation facilities available for non-Welsh speakers. Reference was made that during the recent meeting of the Democratic Services Committee members raised concerns about the language medium of some training sessions and a general culture that risks alienating non-Welsh speakers.  The Head of Democracy responded that discussion have been undertaken internally as regards to the matter and will be reported to the next meeting of the Democratic Services Committee.  The training sessions will be afforded to Elected Members in both Welsh and English languages as is currently afforded to staff.  He further said that contact has been made with the Equality and Human Rights Commission regarding the issue raised and to date no response has been received.

·     Questions were raised as to what are the main differences between the draft and the current Welsh language policy?  The Policy and Welsh Language Manager responded that the revised Welsh Language Policy has been streamlined with the inclusion of general principles to confirm how the Authority conducts its business in different context.  She further said that although draft policy offered little change to the way in which Council services are offered, efforts have been made to promote the use of the Welsh language, i.e., the promotion of the use of the translation service within meetings has been undertaken following the suggestion within the Welsh Language Promotion Group.  She referred also to a desire to strengthen policy commitments to promote and protect Welsh plae-names.  Reference was also made to changes within the revised policy to reflect current recruitment and selection practices to make the Welsh language a skill at different level for different roles available. 

·     Reference was made that each Town/Community Council has a Welsh Language Champion.  Questions were raised as to the role of a Welsh Language Champion within the Town Community Councils and whether there is an expectation for the Welsh Language Champion within the community.  The Policy and Welsh Language Manager responded that discussions were undertaken firstly within the Welsh Language Forum to identify Welsh Language Champions in Town/Community Councils on the Island.  She noted that as the Council is a prominent member of the Welsh Language Forum to identify a  Welsh Language Champion is seen as essential in the promotion of the Welsh language, but it is recognised that there is still a need for additional support for the Welsh Language Champion and an invitation will be afforded for  them to attend the Town and Community Councils Forum.

·     Questions were raised as to what extent does the Welsh language policy negatively impact on local businesses on the Island? Reference was made to the article in The Times recently that the reason the new nuclear power station on Anglesey was blocked due to officials raising concerns over the impact it would have on the Welsh language.  The Chief Executive assured that the impact on the Welsh language was not the reason that the developer withdrew from the development at Wylfa.  The Development Consent Order highlighted mitigation measures within the project to protect the Welsh language but it was the environmental issues that was a hurdle as regards to the development at Wylfa at the time.  He further said that businesses on the Anglesey consider the protection of the Welsh language is a strength for the business.

·     Questions were raised as to what extent is grant funding for businesses from the Welsh Government based on criteria related to their use of the Welsh language?  The Chief Executive responded that it is depended on specific grant programme as regards to the criteria from grant funding from Welsh Government.  He referred to the ARFOR project which has received grant funding from Welsh Government and is able to promote the Welsh language through other business-related projects within the scheme.  He noted that details as regards to grant funding towards projects with the requirements of the Welsh language criteria would need to be forwarded to Members.

·     Reference was made to certain posts within the Authority that are difficult to recruit.  Questions were raised as to whether it would be advantageous to specify within the job specification that the prospective candidates for the posts could be required to commit to learning the Welsh language rather than having to re-advertise the posts on numerous occasions.  The Head of Democracy responded that whilst it is accepted that some posts are difficult to recruit, such circumstances are exceptional, and the  commitment to learning the Welsh language can be specified but it must be considered that it will take a while for a person to learn the language.  He accepted that some roles within the Council could require less Welsh language proficiency, such as non-customer facing posts.  

·     Questions were raised as to how the Council can influence the promotion of the Welsh language and heritage of the Island.  The Portfolio Member for Education and the Welsh Language responded that as there is no specific legislation to safeguard Welsh place-names, the Council is only able to encourage developers to use a Welsh place name on new development. The Chief Executive said that the Authority is trying to protect Welsh historic place names, but new owners of properties have the right to follow the process of changing the historic names of the property.  The Committee considered that a letter should be sent to Welsh Government to request and emphasise the need for new legislation to protect Welsh historic place names and to request the Leader to raise the issue with the WLGA.

·     Questions were raised as to whether there is additional Welsh language requirements have been imposed by the Welsh Language Commissioner? The Policy and Welsh Language Manager responded that there are already 160 Welsh language standards imposed on the Authority since 2016.  Whilst there is a possibility to revisit some standards, imposing additional standards would require a statutory process.  She noted that the Welsh Language Commissioner has recognized the effective practice in promoting the Welsh language by the Council, sharing good practice with other public bodies has also been recognized.

·     Questions were raised as to the number of staff of the Council who taking advantage of the offer to learn the Welsh language?  The Policy and Welsh Language Manager responded that 43 learners are taking advantage of the foundation to advance level at present which is a substantial increase over the last few years.  It was noted that Welsh language courses are also available for Elected Members and Co-opted Members.  

·     Questions were raised as to what extent has the group of Officers and cross party Elected Members, as outlined in the report, been established to oversee the Council’s use of the Welsh language to implement this policy and make recommendations for promoting the language.  The Portfolio Member for Education and the Welsh Language responded that the Welsh Language Promotion Group meets regularly and includes representatives from both scrutiny committees.  He agreed to share further information about the group with committee member, Councillor Pip O’Neill.  

·     Questions were raised as to what support can the Council offer to local businesses to help promote the Welsh language in their tendering processes? The Policy and Welsh Language Manager responded that during tendering processes the contractors can fill the documentation in their preferred language.  She noted that grant funding was used by the Welsh Language Forum to produce a guidance document for business.  She noted that as the Policy and Welsh Language Manager she has been working closely with the ARFOR representatives to promote the benefits of using the Welsh language to businesses in the private sector. 

It was RESOLVED :-

·         to accept the draft Welsh Language Policy and to recommend its submission to the Executive and the full Council for approval;

·         that a letter be sent to Welsh Government to request and emphasise the need for new legislation to protect Welsh historic place names;

·         that the Leader of the Council be requested to raise the issue with the WLGA.