Agenda, decisions and minutes

To receive apologies for absence.

Apologies were received from Councillors Eirwyn Williams and Olaf Cai Larsen.

To receive any declaration of personal interest

No declarations of personal interest were received.

To note any items that are a matter of urgency in the view of the Chairman for consideration

No urgent items were received.

The Chairman shall propose that the minutes of the previous meeting of this committee held on 10 October 2022 be signed as a true record  (attached)

The Chair signed the minutes of the previous meeting of this committee held on 10 October 2022 as a true record.

To present information about the Department’s contribution to the Language Policy.

To accept the report and note the observations received.

The report was presented by the Cabinet Member for Education, and briefly drew attention to the following main points:

-      It was ensured that Cyngor Gwynedd's Language Policy was embedded through all the work done by the Education Department and the county's schools.

-      It was explained that a full consultation had been held on the draft Welsh in Education Strategic Plan (WESP). The WESP had been operational since September 2022. It was explained that it would be monitored regularly by the Welsh Government's Minister for the Welsh Language and Education, and that the department would use the plan as a live document in order to ensure that it reflected Gwynedd's unique situation.

-      Specific attention was drawn to ‘Aberwla’ virtual world, the Immersion Education System's innovative provision. Welsh Government officers recently visited the new immersion centre site in Bangor  to see learners who were newcomers, who were using the virtual-reality equipment to acquire the Welsh language by visiting Aberwla's virtual supermarket. The modern and innovative method of increasing children's confidence in using Welsh in different situations was praised, as this would enable them to use their skills in the community in due course. The immersion centre staff were praised for their work on this new project.

-      In the context of recruitment, it was noted that recruitment challenges remained in some of the Department's services such as catering and cleaning, and that there were problems in recruiting teachers for specific subjects in secondary schools in Gwynedd, although it was emphasised that the challenge of recruiting teachers was a national challenge.

Members were given an opportunity to ask questions and offer observations. During the discussion, the following matters were raised:

Did parents have the right to insist that their children's education was provided through the medium of English and exclude Welsh-medium teaching. It was noted that this could be detrimental to the ability of those pupils to gain employment in their local area due to their lack of Welsh language skills.

-      In response to the enquiry, the Cabinet Member confirmed that she shared this concern but accepted that there were various reasons why parents requested that their children were educated through the medium of English.

-      In response to the enquiry, the Head of Education noted that pupils could receive some of their education through the medium of English under the new curriculum and in accordance with our language policy here in Gwynedd. This was to ensure that pupils were confident and competent in their use of Welsh and English.

-      It was further noted that this issue was occasionally raised by parents, and that the department's officers and all the County's teachers held discussions with parents regarding the advantages of receiving a Welsh-medium education, in the hope that they would be willing to follow this guidance. It was noted that the Department had witnessed an increase in the number of parents who were eager to learn Welsh as adults, having seen their children's progress in learning Welsh.

-  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

To present information about the Department’s contribution to the Language Policy.

To accept the report and note the observations received.

The report was presented by the Head of Corporate Support Department, and briefly drew attention to the following main points:

-      It was confirmed that the department was central to the promotion of the Welsh language within the Council.

-      It was stated that 98.3% of the Department’s workforce had achieved the language designation of their post. It was reported that 95.1% of all the department’s staff had completed the language self-assessment. This was considered to be extremely positive as 66 new members of staff had been appointed within the past two years.

-      It was reported that the department was leading on three of the Council's priority projects.

-      It was acknowledged that the department had faced some recent challenges.

-      It was explained that the department worked to ensure that the Welsh language was used in procurement contracts, influenced the workforce planning systems, and liaised with external organisations in Gwynedd and Wales within the field of registering and administrating criminal record checks in order to provide a bilingual service.

Members were given an opportunity to ask questions and offer observations. During the discussion, the following matters were raised:

It was asked whether the legal unit was part of the department.

-      In response to the query, the Head of Corporate Support confirmed that the legal service was not part of the Department.

The Department was praised for its work in relation to Welsh place names, and it was enquired whether it was possible to collaborate with Google Maps so that they could use the Welsh names for the areas of the County.

-      In response to the enquiry, the Language Adviser noted that the department had not succeeded in encouraging Google to use Welsh place names yet as such companies obtained their information from a number of different sources. However, it was confirmed that the Department was collaborating with Ordnance Survey so that they could use Welsh names on maps. This work had been positive to date, and it was likely to be an ongoing project in order to ensure consistency within their maps.

Members gave thanks for the report.

RESOLVED

To accept the report and note the observations received.

To present information about the Department’s contribution to the Language Policy.

To accept the report and note the observations received.

The report was presented by the Head of Housing and Property Department, and briefly drew attention to the following main points:

-      It was explained that the department dealt with a number of front-line services such as homelessness, refugees and housing supply. It was explained that the department also dealt with corporate matters such as office cleaning and security. This meant that the department dealt with a vast number of people and it was pleasing to report that all these services were offered in Welsh / bilingually.

-      It was confirmed that service users came from various backgrounds and often had specific needs or were suffering from stress. The department felt that communicating with users in their language of choice was crucial, and was proud of succeeding in this respect.

-      It was reported that the department had invested time and effort to assist people through the current situation in Ukraine. The Department had succeeded to resettle hundreds of people in the county on a temporary basis in order to provide them with refuge.

-      It was expressed that 94% had reached the language designation level of their job. with the vast majority of the workforce having completed the self-assessment. It was a source of pride that this had increased from 67% since January 2022. It was confirmed that 6 members of staff had attended language training.

-      The department considered that the Common Housing Policy, which gave priority for social housing to individuals with a connection to Gwynedd, ensured that local people could live and remain in their communities. It was considered that this reduced migration and mobility that had been identified as a threat to the Welsh language within the Welsh Language Promotion Plan. It was further explained that 96% of social housing allocations had gone to people with a local connection between September 2021-22.

-      It was noted that there was currently a housing crisis in the area and the aim of the Housing Action Plan was to ensure that people were able to remain in their communities through a number of schemes such as the Plans to Develop Our Own Housing and first-time buyer schemes.

-      Another source of pride was the department's computer systems for the Housing Options Scheme.

Members were given an opportunity to ask questions and offer observations. During the discussion, the following matters were raised:

Due to a clause in the report noting statutory requirements to advertise in English (in addition to Welsh), some committee members noted that this could lead to placing Welsh contractors at a disadvantage.

-      In response to the enquiry, the Head of Housing and Property Department confirmed that advertising in English was a statutory requirement placed upon the department. However, it was emphasised that the department often advertised bilingually.

-      It was explained that within the Council's Framework, Cyngor Gwynedd's Language Policy was shared with the companies following the receipt of bids for work. The department tied the companies to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

Sharing information from the Census about the numbers and proportion of Welsh speakers in Gwynedd.

To accept the report and note the observations received.

The report was presented by the Research and Information Manager and the Senior Research and Analytics Officer. Attention was drawn briefly to the following principal points: 

-      It was explained that the latest Census had been held on 21 March 2021, with the detailed results on the Welsh language published on 6 December 2022.

-      It was explained that the following question had been asked as part of the census, and was used as the basis for the data:

“Can you understand, speak, read or write Welsh?

§  Understand spoken Welsh

§  Speak Welsh

§  Read Welsh

§  Write Welsh

§  OR none of the above”

-      It was confirmed that the percentage of Welsh-speakers (3 years old and above) in Gwynedd had fallen from 65.4% in 2011 to 64.4% in 2021. It was noted that this was lower than the overall reduction in the percentage of Welsh-speakers in Wales, which was 1.2%.

-      It was reported that the percentage of Welsh-speakers in Gwynedd had reduced each decade since 1981, and during that time, the percentage had reduced by 12.2%.

-      It was stated that the age group with the greatest number of Welsh-speakers was the 3-15 year-old group. However, it was confirmed that there had been a decrease of 2.9% in the number of Welsh-speakers in this age group.

-      It was explained that the rates of Welsh-speakers in Gwynedd was very similar to the general patterns seen throughout Wales. It was noted that the only age group that was different to the national pattern was an increase of 0.6% in Welsh-speakers between 50 and 64 years old in Gwynedd, where there had been a general decrease of 0.7% throughout Wales.

-      Details were provided on the 13 areas within Gwynedd, confirming that Caernarfon Catchment had the greatest percentage of Welsh-speakers (85.3%) and the lowest numbers were to be found in Bro Dysynni (38.6%). It was explained that a decrease in the number of Welsh-speakers was found in 10 areas, with an increase in the number of speakers only in the areas of Pen Llŷn, Bangor Catchment and Bro Dysynni.

-      It was confirmed that the five neighbourhoods with the highest number of Welsh-speakers were located in the Arfon area, and the five neighbourhoods with the fewest speakers were in the Bangor area.

-      It was reported that Llanbedrog and Abersoch was the neighbourhood with the largest increase of Welsh-speakers, with the greatest decrease to be found in Hendre area, Bangor.

-      It was noted that 7.1% of the population had confirmed that they understood spoken Welsh but could not speak it. This was higher than the Wales percentage of 5.2%. It was confirmed that the neighbourhood with the greatest number of people able to understand spoken Welsh but unable to speak it was Marchog.

-      Peblig neighbourhood in Caernarfon was identified as the neighbourhood with the greatest number of people able to speak Welsh but who were unable to read and write it.

-      It was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

Information item only.

The Language Adviser presented the report and noted the following points:

-      It was reported that this was an annual report that was submitted by the Language Commissioner and its purpose was to provide a view on how the various public bodies conformed to language standards.

-      It was emphasised that the report was not specifically formulated for Cyngor Gwynedd; rather it provided a general national picture.

-      It was explained that the report suggested which fields would be given attention by the Commissioner over the coming months.

Members were invited to contact the Language Adviser if they had any questions arising from the report.

Information item only, there will be no discussion on the contents of the letter. This items has been translated into English by the Council.

This correspondence was presented as part of the committee's agenda for information only. The matter was not discussed during the meeting.