Agenda item

To consider the report.

To accept the report and to note the observations received.

The report was presented by the Corporate Director and the Head of Legal Services. They referred briefly to the following main points:

It was reminded that the Leadership Team and Corporate Services collaborated with all Council departments and partners to contribute to policies, plans, projects and work streams that realised the objectives of the language strategy. An example of this was shared when detailing the 'More Than Words' project confirming that the Statutory Director of Social Services was part of the project board and had recently been elected as the Chair of the board for the north Wales region.

It was reported that the Chief Executive represented Cyngor Gwynedd on the Gwynedd and Anglesey Public Services Board with the assistance of the Corporate Director. It was reported that there was a noticeable change in the number of Board meetings which were held in Welsh, with the vast majority of meetings being held through the medium of Welsh with a translation service available. It was confirmed that this was the only Board of its kind in Wales to hold meetings in Welsh and bilingually.

It was pointed out that Cyngor Gwynedd was the host authority for a number of regional partnerships such as the North Wales Corporate Joint Committee. Pride was expressed that the Council was able to maintain all aspects of this responsibility bilingually with emphasis being placed on the Welsh language. The Head of Legal Services elaborated that work had been underway to move staff from the North Wales Growth Deal to the new corporation in April this year. It was explained that Legal Services were working with the Corporate Joint Committee to develop a range of long-term service level agreements. It was emphasised that this would mean that Legal Services would move away from the current arrangement of appointing locum solicitors, who did not have Welsh language skills but were appointed on the basis of their specific expertise, in order to develop teams in Gwynedd that could support the Corporate Joint Committee while also committing to the requirements of the Council's Language Policy.

It was explained that the Corporate Director was Chair of the Digital Transformation Board which ensured that the Welsh language was central to any future development of digital systems, as part of Cyngor Gwynedd's Plan. It was elaborated that a Digital Suitability Assessment had to be completed before taking on new digital systems, confirming that consideration of the language was part of this assessment.

Pride was expressed that the Leadership Team and Legal Services had been collaborating with CISCO/Webex to develop a new telephone system for Council staff. It was explained that this system forwarded calls to other staff members if the recipient was in a virtual call or meeting. It was pointed out that this international company had collaborated with the Council to develop a new Welsh language provision for the use of Council staff. It was emphasised that this Welsh language provision would be available to other organisations and companies wishing to obtain the system due to the company's co-operation with the Council.

It was confirmed that the Leadership Team was taking part in the meetings of the Language Forum developed by the Council's Language Unit as well as in the Steering Group established by the Welsh Language Commissioner. Pride was expressed that the Council's membership of the Steering Group was seen as that of a good practice adviser among the other organisations.

It was reported that staff numbers in the Leadership Team and Legal Services had increased significantly over the past year as officers of the Business and Commissioning team that was part of Adults services transferred to the care of the Corporate Director of Social Services. However, it was emphasised that 95.6% of staff had successfully completed the language self-assessment. It was confirmed that only five members of staff who had completed the self-assessment did not meet the language requirements of their jobs but that every effort was being made to learn the language through language training and the Cyfeillion Cymraeg scheme.

It was highlighted that the Electoral Service had expanded the Council's representation on national bodies such as the Wales Electoral Co-ordination Board. It was explained that Cyngor Gwynedd's representation on other bodies was a catalyst for linguistic developments beyond the Council, leading to national change. Pride was expressed at seeing a change in electoral systems such as essential forms and processes software, as they converted to become bilingual. It was confirmed that other organisations had the confidence to make greater use of the Welsh language as these developments were implemented, accelerating the scale of Welsh language coverage within this field.

Examples of obstacles faced by the Leadership Team such as receiving English-only correspondence were shared. It was recognised that this situation had improved in recent years but the Team received regular correspondence solely in English from some organisations including the Welsh Government. Similarly, reference was made to the challenge in holding meetings with the Health Board where there was a tendency for conversations to turn to English rather than ensuring that a translator was available to allow discussions through the medium of Welsh. The Head of Legal Services elaborated that there had been recruitment challenges in the past as the Service sought to find qualified and specialist individuals and these did not necessarily speak Welsh as the Service appointed locum solicitors to carry out short-term work. However, it was emphasised that the Service had succeeded in appointing specialist individuals who now possessed the appropriate language skills.

During the discussion, the following observations were made: 

In response to updates that the Housing and Property Department was receiving legal advice when considering introducing a language condition to the Housing Allocation Policy, the Head of Legal Services confirmed that the service was supportive of this amendment. However, it was emphasised that legal research was currently being carried out to consider whether this condition could be added to the processes. It was elaborated that the Chief Executive and the Housing and Property Department were considering the Housing Allocation Policy holistically in order to strengthen the linguistic element if possible.

It was pointed out that the Gwynedd and Anglesey Public Services Board's Language Sub-group was tackling the challenge of language myths. In response to a query for detail, the Corporate Director confirmed that the language myths of each of the Board's institutions were diverse. An exemplar myth was shared that Welsh language skills of a high academic standard were needed in order to be employed by Cyngor Gwynedd. It was emphasised that this myth needed to be challenged to ensure that individuals were appointed to roles and that an understanding was shared that language skills varied according to the requirement of the specific role for which individuals were applying. It was emphasised that another common myth existed among the institutions such as a decline in the confidence of the workforce to speak Welsh in the workplace compared to informal Welsh. It was emphasised that the aim of this project was to highlight that there were opportunities for people to use and develop language skills in the workplace.

In response to a query about the challenge posed by artificial intelligence developments, the Corporate Director confirmed that it was one of the inevitable priorities of the Digital Plan. It was explained that the Council's Manager Network would receive an update on the evolution of artificial intelligence and the potential use it can have in the implementation of services. It was ensured that the Welsh language was central to all discussions on the use of artificial intelligence when it would be presented to the Council in the future.

The members expressed their thanks for the report.

RESOLVED

To accept the report and note the observations received.