6 WELSH LANGUAGE PROMOTION PLAN 2019 - 2023: ECONOMY AND COMMUNITY PDF 371 KB
To consider
the report.
Decision:
To accept the
report and to note the observations received.
Minutes:
To accept the report and to note the observations received.
The Head of the Economy
and Community Department
presented her report, noting the responses and the main points in relation to
promoting the Welsh language within the department. She added that the Economy
and Community Department was in a different situation to a department such as
YGC, as the majority of its staff could speak Welsh, and used it due to
the nature of their work.
She emphasised that 97% of the department's staff had
reached the expected language specification. She added that there was work to
be done amongst the staff that had worked in the department for a lengthy period, and were able to speak Welsh but did not use it. She
noted that there were no recruitment challenges, and that the younger, newer
staff tended to use Welsh naturally.
She referred to the report that included relevant
links to further information on language promotion. She drew attention to the
following main points:
· The department hoped that it would be possible to fund
a successor scheme to the Arfor scheme, if funding was forthcoming.
· A scheme to introduce Welsh music to business who were
unfamiliar with Welsh culture had been successful in promoting the Welsh language
within the tourism sector.
· She was proud of the libraries service, where 100% of
the staff were Welsh speakers and used the language naturally. As community
workers, it was recognised that they had an additional role as language
promoters among librarians. She shared a letter from a resident who had used
the service, and had become interested in the language following
the efforts made by staff.
· Regarding contracts with external companies, she noted
that the leisure service was the main challenge in relation to promoting the
Welsh language, especially in areas of the county with fewer Welsh speakers.
· She explained that this had been partially resolved
since Byw'n Iach company had taken
over. The company was bound to adhere to the Council's language policy as part
of its contract.
· There had been obstacles in some cases, for example it
was anticipated that there may be a lack of Welsh in meetings with the British
Government to discuss funding that was not allocated by Welsh Government.
Members were given an opportunity to ask questions and
offer observations. During the discussion, the following matters were raised:-
· A member expressed her sadness that Welsh Government
would not be responsible for allocating funding for new programmes, and added that this would have a detrimental impact
on the Welsh language.
· Sustainable tourism was welcomed - selling a place as
a destination could be negative, and excessive tourism destroyed the aspects
that attracted people in the first place.
· She was proud of the change of emphasis on the type of
tourism that would benefit areas such as Gwynedd, namely sustainable tourism.
· A member agreed that Byw'n Iach should commit to promoting the Welsh language among its staff. The member asked how this was measured and challenged ... view the full minutes text for item 6