Agenda item

To provide an overview of the monitoring work done in regards to the implementation of the Council’s language strategy – the Welsh Language Promotion Plan for Gwynedd 2018-2023.

To accept the report and note the observations received.

The report was presented by the Language Adviser, and she briefly highlighted the following main points:

She explained that officers were looking back at the current plan as part of the process of drawing up a new Language Strategy for 2023-2033, to consider its successes and whether the targets set had been achieved. She noted that the new strategy had been presented to the Cabinet recently and that it would be presented to the Full Council in December 2023.

It was emphasised that this item before the committee today only contained a draft of the final report because further monitoring was required before producing an official report.

The members were reminded that the main aim of the promotion plan 2018-2023 had been to increase the opportunities to use the Welsh language and try to encourage people to use Welsh in as many contexts as possible, across five work areas:

·       Language of the family,

·       The language of learning

·       Language of the Community

·       The language of the service's work

·       Research and technology

It was acknowledged that the timetable for implementing the existing plan had been very challenging. It was emphasised that the pandemic in 2020 had greatly impacted what had been possible to achieve, as there had been restrictions on social activities. The pandemic had had a far-reaching impact on individuals' language use. Despite this, the pandemic had created an opportunity to do some new things to increase use of the Welsh language.

She explained that the report reported on each action area as stated above, and it also highlighted specific projects that had been produced in response to the Language Strategy's objectives.

She noted that there had been successes in supporting families because of the promotion work that was being undertaken within the Early Years field, supported by Hunaniaith. She explained that work had also been undertaken by the language immersion units as well as through the 'Aberwla' virtual world to ensure that children gained confidence in the language. It was reported that another technological project had also been delivered, namely Prosiect 15. She explained that the aim of the project was to encourage use of the Welsh language amongst young people on social media.

The Adviser drew attention to the Place Names project that had been established during the past two years in response to the community objectives of the Strategy.

It was emphasised that working jointly with partners was very important and she drew particular attention to the need to work with the Gwynedd Language Initiative. The members were reminded that the Initiative would move to operate outside the Council in the coming months and it was emphasised that maintaining a close relationship between the Council and the Language Initiative was essential. It was assured that there would be no change in the support provided to the community, and meetings would take place between the Initiative and the Council to discuss projects and schemes to prioritise.

It was recognised that some unexpected challenges had affected officers' ability to meet some objectives within the Plan. Public engagement had been challenging at times, and response numbers had been low. It was also explained that the Covid-19 Pandemic had led to the need to revise priorities, and lessons had been learned.

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

The Early Years Unit and Hunaniaith were thanked for their work in encouraging the parents of young children to use the Welsh language. It was asked whether the Council's partnerships continued to share the benefits of a Welsh upbringing for children with new parents, and the effect this could have on their children. In response to the enquiry, the Language Adviser noted that services such as Health Visitors did not have much time on their hands at present due to their workload, and language matters such as this were being adequately addressed through the other matters that came up during their visits. The Senior Language and Scrutiny Adviser added that the Gwynedd Language Forum had been formed by now and there were representatives from various partners including Mudiad Meithrin on the forum – she would ask them. The Welsh Language Learning and Development Officer added that Hunaniaith had been doing work with parents and children alongside the immersion centres. It was explained that Hunaniaith had undertaken community-based work in this field too.

Matters within the planning field were discussed in order to see how more emphasis could be placed on language thresholds when submitting applications and allocating housing.

The members expressed their gratitude for the report and thanked the Language Adviser for her work over the past 10 years. It was confirmed that this was her last meeting as she had accepted a new post. It was noted that the Committee wished her well to the future.

RESOLVED

To accept the report and note the observations received.