Agenda item

To present information about the implementation of the Language Policy and activities to promote the Welsh language.

To accept the report and to note the observations received..

The report was presented by the Head of Highways, Engineering and YGC and the Business Development Manager. They referred briefly to the following main points:

It was reported that the Department's work was front-line in nature and that employees had frequent contact with the public. It was stressed that most staff were expected to be able to speak Welsh to an acceptable level so that queries could be dealt with directly and provide a better customer experience as a result.

They provided a list of different training that had been provided to support staff to develop and foster their skills. They were also pleased that the Department had managed to attract apprentices to the fields of civil engineering, electrician and fleet technician. It was emphasised that the Welsh language was focal to their development within the Department.

They expressed pride that 96.6% of the Department's staff reached the language designations for their posts. It was noted that this was a significant increase since the Department had previously reported to the Language Committee and that the Department had worked consistently to ensure that employees had the opportunity to complete the self-evaluation questionnaire. It was elaborated that work continued within all services across the Department to encourage language use and build confidence in language skills.

It was noted that three engineers from the YGC service were members of the Institution of Civil Engineers North Wales's Graduate Student Technician board. It was elaborated that one of the members chaired the group, reporting on technical issues to other groups across the United Kingdom regularly.

It was confirmed that joint working took place with the Environment Category Team and the Council's Business Support Team for attending events across the County. It was explained that the aim of the events was to raise awareness of opportunities for local subcontractors to register on the Council's list of Subcontractors or to provide a service through the Council's frameworks. They elaborated that information was shared as part of the Council's Business Support Bulletin which was issued on a weekly basis. It was hoped to hold further events with Adra, the Council's Departments and more businesses in the future.

They reported that the department had received positive feedback during this year's Anglesey Show and also in careers events. It was noted that these included comments about the service being delivered to residents as well as the department's work to promote the Welsh language.

During the discussion, the following observations were made:- 

It was noted that the Department had received several complaints about issues such as English-only signs. It was asked what steps the Department was taking to reduce the number of complaints in the future. In response, it was acknowledged that this had been a challenge over the past year because the Department had been working with specialist external contractors. It was emphasised that contracts, by now, emphasised the need to introduce all signage for sites bilingually and that sanctions can be introduced if the conditions of the policies are breached. They confirmed that no difficulties had arisen since this change was introduced and that the Department was keen to build on these procedures in the future, as it was inevitable that use of external contractors would continue due to the specialised nature of aspects of the Department's work.

The members expressed their thanks for the report.

RESOLVED

To accept the report and note the observations received.