Agenda item

To consider the report.

To accept the report, noting the observations received during the discussion.

The report was presented by the Head of Legal Services. He referred briefly to the following main points:

It was reported that the Legal Services were responsible for propriety (including the Monitoring Officer role, legal services, Elections and Electoral Registration Team as well as Coroner's Support.) Regional work that the Service had been undertaking in recent years was highlighted, by providing support to GwE, the Growth Deal and the North Wales Corporate Joint Committee (CJC). 

It was recognised that legal requirements for the North Wales Corporate Joint Committee had increased significantly, and to cope with that work the CJC had formed an independent legal team, with Cyngor Gwynedd's Legal Services having now withdrawn from the partnership. It was stressed that Democracy and Finance Services continued to support the CJC. There was pride that there was a presence in the process of developing CJC procedures and systems as it was formed, which was essential to ensure bilingualism and that the Welsh language received equal attention, as good practice had been demonstrated and implemented.

It was explained that the Electoral Team promoted the Welsh language and insisted that bilingualism was ensured on all occasions. Examples of the importance of bilingualism were shared such as on documentation, training, and when election results were announced verbally. Pride was expressed that the Electoral Team was successfully promoting the language and that the work was being carried out to ensure that the Electoral Commission's bilingual systems were now standard. It was emphasised that there was room for improvement, highlighting that the Electoral Team emphasised that the English only provision of documentation or training was not acceptable.

Thanks were given to the Coroner, who worked at a national level and also promoted the Welsh language through her work. It was explained that the Gwynedd and Anglesey Coroners' Service had not been incorporated into a regional body across North Wales due to the linguistic emphasis placed by the Coroner in this area, noting that this reflected the importance of the language to the Service. Pride was expressed that this work was able to influence other Coroners' areas by ensuring that documentation was available for use in both Welsh and English.

Pride was expressed that the Legal Services were now able to carry out all elements of their duties bilingually, such as the most technical aspects of the work, the provision of contracts and transcripts of court proceedings for work in Gwynedd and regionally across north Wales. Members were reminded that this was not possible in recent years because locum solicitors had been appointed to assist with regional work, where the need for specific expertise dominated the need to ensure that those individuals were proficient in Welsh. It was acknowledged that the Legal Service had experienced recruitment challenges in recent years but emphasised that recruitment needs had now eased and that the Service was able to attract experienced and Welsh language skills staff when any staff turnover arose, taking pride in the highly enthusiastic and hard-working workforce.

The linguistic challenges facing the service were similar to other Council Departments. It was confirmed that there were some challenges beyond the control of the service and the Council, whilst work was being done to influence other places linguistically, as had already been noted. It was recognised that some linguistic challenges arose from the need to work jointly with external, national and specialist companies, where it was still not possible to ensure that relevant expertise was available through the medium of Welsh. However, it was emphasised that this joint working was done in Welsh, if the service was available. It was pointed out that this joint working with experts was only one aspect of the service's work, and pride was taken that most of the work was being carried out in Welsh or bilingually.

It was confirmed that the Service was taking advantage of the opportunities provided by the Council, such as Cynllun Yfory and Apprentices, to develop qualified and experienced staff through the medium of Welsh. It was explained that two apprentices were currently employed with the Service, in a role within the Electoral Team and in a para legal role and that ongoing consideration was being given to identify new opportunities.

During the discussion, the following observations were made: - 

In response to an enquiry, the Head of the Legal Service explained that information had not been presented to the committee on what needed to be addressed during the next year to raise the status of the Welsh language and ensure opportunities for Welsh speakers, within this report as there were no specific examples of practical activity that could be identified within the Service at this time.

In response to an enquiry, the Head of the Legal Service explained that he would welcome an expansion of the opportunities for apprentices and work experience for law students. It was reiterated that two apprentices were already working within the Service and the Service would endeavour to take advantage of these opportunities in the future, as required. However, it was explained that the main challenge within the area of short-term work experiences was to ensure access to the services' electronic systems for an adequate period of time, when work experience individuals were only in the office for a limited period. It was confirmed that individuals had been on work experience in the past, and that work was being done to find a way to be able to offer this in the future.

The members expressed their thanks for the report.

RESOLVED

To accept the report, noting the observations received during the discussion.