Agenda item

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 Highways, Engineering and YGC Department. Reference was made to the following main points: 

It was explained that the department produced a Highways, Engineering and YGC Newsletter, as well as a YGC Bulletin, on a regular basis. It was confirmed that these promoted the use of Welsh in the department because they were circulated in Welsh only. Reassurance was given that efforts were being made so that every member of staff received it, and by printing hard copies for any member of staff who did not use computer equipment.

It was reported that the department had received good feedback as they attended national events such as the National Eisteddfod in Boduan and the Royal Welsh Show in Builth Wells. It was noted that the department’s hope, in these events this year, was to educate young people about the work that the department undertakes.

Reference was made to some of the challenges faced by the department, such as English-only documentation when contacting partners and associated companies. Nevertheless, pride was expressed that one of YGC's engineers had been appointed as a mentor for the Institute of Civil Engineers (ICE) and gave support to the Gwynedd, Môn and Conwy councils on their work.

An example was shared of an error made by a contractor recently where no bilingual signs had been used in a development work site. It was confirmed that the department had assisted with translations of the signs and a swift solution was found to the situation. It was emphasised that the department would monitor the use of bilingual signs very closely in the future following this incident. It was explained that notices could be given to contractors and reduce the amount payable to them when this occurred. It was acknowledged that such difficulties were likely to arise when using out-of-county contractors, but it was explained that the department used specific frameworks to identify contractors in order to ensure quality and value for money. It was emphasised that local frameworks were in place, but out-of-county contractors must be used from time to time when the service was not available in Gwynedd.

It was confirmed that the department had established a new fleet service system. It was explained that the system assisted to track vehicles and manage assets. It was noted that Welsh appeared first on the system. It was explained that this system was being used by other stakeholders such as UK Highways and the trunk road agent.

It was reported that the department employed 507 members of staff (120 in the 7GC service and 387 in the rest of the department), with a number of employees not using computers in their day-to-day work. It was noted that the department had simplified the on-line assessment and had also distributed a paper version to ensure that manual workers completed the assessment. It was explained that this was a factor which assisted the department to increase the response level in the self-assessment, and that 95.63% of the department's staff had now completed it.

Pride was expressed at the success of a series of videos developed for social media which explained the duties of various services in the department. It was noted that these videos had been shared bilingually for all residents to be aware of the department's work. It was confirmed that these videos had been a huge success and had raised morale within the teams. It was noted that the department was happy and eager for other departments to produce similar videos if they wished.

RESOLVED

To accept the report and note the observations received.