Cyflwynwyd gan:Cllr. Menna Trenholme
Decision:
Adaptations made to the Language Strategy as a
result of the public consultation were supported and it was recommended to the
Full Council that they adopt the strategy.
Minutes:
The report was submitted by Cllr Menna
Trenholme.
DECISION
Adaptations made to the Language Strategy as a result of the public consultation were supported and it
was recommended to the Full Council that it adopts the strategy.
DISCUSSION
It was explained that the draft strategy reflected the Council's commitment
to promote the language across the county and met the statutory requirements
within the Welsh Language Standards. The vision to create an inclusive strategy
for the next 10 years was shared, which would increase use of the Welsh
language in various contexts in Gwynedd.
It was reported that a consultation had been undertaken in April and May
2023 and that a positive response had been received. It was detailed that
ensuring adequate and suitable opportunities for people to learn Welsh and gain
confidence when speaking Welsh were regular themes in these responses. It was
recognised that less positive responses had been received such as comments
noting that the Council should not use the Welsh language as a way of discriminating, and should not be wasting scarce resources
on the language.
It was recognised that it was disappointing that only 3 responses had been
received to the questionnaire from individuals aged between 25 and 34. In light
of this result, it was reported that focus groups had been held for individuals
aged between 16 and 20. It was confirmed that undertaking consultations with
young individuals was challenging and the unit was working to find new
engagement methods to ensure a higher number of responses in the future.
It was confirmed that no suggestions about practical changes to the
strategy derived from the consultation. It was emphasised that no major changes
had been made to the strategy, only minor amendments. Attention was drawn to
the following amendments:
·
The
strategy had been amended to include more focus on technology as it was
identified as a challenge in every area of action.
·
It
was considered whether it would be possible to increase the presence of the
Welsh language on social media when developing the work programme, as
respondents noted it as a challenge.
·
The
strategy had been changed to address concerns about people's attitudes and the
economic challenges that affected the use of the Welsh language rather than
demographic challenges and the Evidence Base.
It was explained that the programme addressed the Welsh language in
strategic plans such as WESP, projects such as the place names project that
gave status to Welsh names and Project 15 that sought to encourage the digital
use of Welsh by children and young people.
It was emphasised that it was a live work programme that was adapted as the
need arose. It was explained that there was no specific budget to implement the
language strategy and, therefore, there was a need to ensure that a sufficient
budget was available to implement the projects of the work programme by
submitting funding bids through the Council's corporate bid system as the need
arose.
It was confirmed that the Language and Scrutiny Unit would update the
Cabinet on the progress of the work programme and the implementation of the
Strategy as part of their annual report about the field of language. It was
also detailed that all departments would also explain their contributions to
implement the strategy as part of their annual reports to the Language
Committee, as well as share data with the Language and Scrutiny Unit at the end
of the financial year.
Reference was made to the Gwynedd Language Initiative
and it was noted that a work programme was being agreed with them to see how
collaboration could be undertaken on different parts of the strategy. It was
explained that this collaboration occurred naturally as they were part of the
Gwynedd Language Forum.
Awdur:Ian Jones: Head of Corporate Support Department
Supporting documents: