Agenda item

To consider the report.

To accept the report and to note the observations received.

 

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 by the department. 

·  A member requested more information about the differences between dealing with grants from London and Cardiff, and how much influence the Council would have in insisting that use was made of the Welsh language. There were already examples from the Economic Ambition Board that was led more from Westminster, and signs of a negative influence on the Welsh language. 

·  A member referred to the libraries’ staff as natural ambassadors in their role, and enquired whether it was worth including this in the job description in future. 

·  A member referred to the huge increase in demand for Welsh lessons, from potential tourists. It was added that they saw the Welsh language as something that enriched their experience of being in Wales. 

·  A member noted that it was part of the protocol for staff in the departments to be aware that there was an expectation that they should use Welsh.  

 

 

In response to some of the above observations and questions, the Head of Economy and Community Department noted: 

 

·  To ensure that tourism was sustainable, the numbers of tourists must be restricted in certain areas, and that a discussion should take place as part of the review. 

·  A Council service would undertake monitoring to measure the performance of Byw'n Iach company, and the Cabinet Member would meet the company to challenge performance.  She added that they had data in relation to staff attainment and the language specifications of posts. 

·  In relation to the use of Welsh in meetings, she noted that virtual meetings had enabled more Welsh to be used, as software such as Zoom had simultaneous translation capability. 

·  There was no certainty about the arrangements for the new funds that would replace the European funding succession. It was anticipated that the UK Government in Wales would deal with the applications. 

·  A natural Welsh culture existed among the staff of the North Wales Economic Ambition Board as the majority were fluent Welsh speakers. However, it was acknowledged that there was a challenge in relation to working and holding discussions with the Governments, as this happened in English. 

·  In response to the question about libraries’ staff, it was noted the role of being a language ambassador was not specifically noted in the job description. However, promoting the Welsh language was a natural part of the post. 

 

The Language Adviser added the following points: 

 

·  There was a clause in the Council's language policy that noted that Council staff were expected to communicate in Welsh.  It was added that this policy was being amended, and that there would be an opportunity to remind staff about this clause when the new policy was promoted. 

·  In relation to communication, there had been a change over the past year, with Teams proving to be problematic as it did not have a simultaneous translation facility, and people unwilling to use Zoom although it had an effective provision.