Issue - meetings
Meeting: 29/04/2025 - Language Committee (Item 8)
PDF 340 KBTo consider
the report.
Decision:
To accept the report and to note the observations
received.
Minutes:
The report was presented by the Corporate Director and
the Head of Legal Services. They referred briefly to the following main points:
It was reminded that the Leadership Team and Corporate
Services collaborated with all Council departments and partners to contribute
to policies, plans, projects and work streams that realised the objectives of
the language strategy. An example of this was shared when detailing the 'More
Than Words' project confirming that the Statutory Director of Social Services
was part of the project board and had recently been elected as the Chair of the
board for the north Wales region.
It was reported that the Chief Executive represented
Cyngor Gwynedd on the Gwynedd and Anglesey Public Services Board with the
assistance of the Corporate Director. It was reported that there was a
noticeable change in the number of Board meetings which were held in Welsh,
with the vast majority of meetings being held through the medium of Welsh with
a translation service available. It was confirmed that this was the only Board
of its kind in Wales to hold meetings in Welsh and bilingually.
It was pointed out that Cyngor Gwynedd was the host
authority for a number of regional partnerships such as the North Wales
Corporate Joint Committee. Pride was expressed that the Council was able to
maintain all aspects of this responsibility bilingually with emphasis being
placed on the Welsh language. The Head of Legal Services elaborated that work
had been underway to move staff from the North Wales Growth Deal to the new
corporation in April this year. It was explained that Legal Services were working
with the Corporate Joint Committee to develop a range of long-term service
level agreements. It was emphasised that this would mean that Legal Services
would move away from the current arrangement of appointing locum solicitors,
who did not have Welsh language skills but were appointed on the basis of their
specific expertise, in order to develop teams in Gwynedd that could support the
Corporate Joint Committee while also committing to the requirements of the
Council's Language Policy.
It was explained that the Corporate Director was Chair
of the Digital Transformation Board which ensured that the Welsh language was
central to any future development of digital systems, as part of Cyngor
Gwynedd's Plan. It was elaborated that a Digital Suitability Assessment had to
be completed before taking on new digital systems, confirming that
consideration of the language was part of this assessment.
Pride was expressed that the Leadership Team and Legal Services had been collaborating with CISCO/Webex to develop a new telephone system for Council staff. It was explained that this system forwarded calls to other staff members if the recipient was in a virtual call or meeting. It was pointed out that this international company had collaborated with the Council to develop a new Welsh language provision for the use of Council staff. It was emphasised that this Welsh language provision would be available to other organisations and companies wishing to obtain ... view the full minutes text for item 8
Meeting: 28/01/2025 - Language Committee (Item 6)
To consider
the report.
Decision:
To accept the report
and to note the observations received.
Minutes:
The report was submitted by the Head of Corporate
Services Department, and he referred briefly to the following main
points:
It was explained that the Department’s name had
recently changed from 'Corporate Support' to 'Corporate Services' to convey the
range of services that are part of the Department.
It was confirmed that the Department was leading on
six priority projects within the Council Plan 2023-2028 and promoted the Welsh
language at every opportunity.
It was added that the Department also supported many other projects in the
Plan, namely Ffordd Gwynedd Plan Priorities 2023-2028. It was detailed that the
Department was leading and contributed extensively towards realising
priorities, namely:
·
A Satisfied and Healthy Workforce
·
Workforce Planning and Talent Development
·
The Council's Digital Plan
It was reported that the Information and Research
Service was in regular discussions with the Office for National Statistics. It
was explained that the Office for National Statistics had considered not
conducting Censuses in the future and considered gathering data in other ways
to gather similar information. It was noted that the Service and the Department
had considered that continuing with the Census in its current form was an
important practice to continue.
Attention was drawn to the fact that the Support
Service continued to develop staff training modules bilingually through the
internal Self-service system. It was added that they had been in contact with
the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) office in Liverpool to put pressure on
them to develop an online application form in Welsh, asking for an update for
when that form will be available for use.
Reference was made to the work of the Democracy and
Language Service, mentioning the Language Awareness sessions, the Gwynedd
Language Forum, the Welsh language in business, Partnership Boards, Place Names
Project and Visitors from the Basque Country.
Pride was expressed that Cyngor Gwynedd had been
nominated for an 'Employer of the Year' award at the North Wales Work-Based
Learning Awards 2025, following the Department's work to promote the Welsh
language and influence providers to provide courses through the medium of Welsh
to trainees and apprentices employed by Cyngor Gwynedd.
It was confirmed that influential work had been
undertaken in the Procurement field as new Procurement regulations had been
developed for the future. It was emphasised that the Procurement Service had
influenced those discussions to ensure that the Welsh language was central to
the Procurement process in the future.
Menter Iaith Gwynedd officers were congratulated for
coming out on top in the Mentrau Iaith Cymru awards recently. It was explained
that the award related to their work on developing Croeso Cymraeg.
It was explained that Artificial Intelligence (AI) was
a development that the Department was aware of, using it when appropriate
whilst being mindful of the challenges of using it. It was noted that this
field will receive ongoing consideration from the Department as it developed
over the next few years.
It was reported that 166 of the 176 staff members within the Department had completed the language ... view the full minutes text for item 6