Agenda item

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.

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.