Welsh Language Standards

The Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011 is the legislation that created the Welsh language standards. It is a legally binding framework that all public organisations in Wales must follow to make sure that the Welsh language is treated no less favourably than English.

Our Welsh Language Standards Policy explains what services the public and our own staff should expect from us in Welsh and how we will provide those services.

Making a complaint

You can make a complaint to us if we fail to provide a Welsh language service, or if anyone is unsatisfied with the standard of the Welsh language service we provide.

You can also make a complaint to the Welsh Language Commissioner.

We will deal with all complaints received as stated in our Complaints and Commendation Policy including those received in relation to our failure to comply with our Welsh Language Standards, Service Delivery Standards, Policy Keeping Standards and Operational Standards. Complaints received in Welsh or English will not be treated differently in terms of the response times.

We have a dedicated Complaints and Commendation Team who handle complaints according to the Public Services Ombudsman (Wales) Act 2005, including those in relation to our Welsh Language Standards. Any complaint received in relation to our Standards will be discussed with our Welsh Language Policy Advisor and the relevant part of the business concerned. Our Complains and Commendation Team co-ordinate the response and correspond with the complainant in all instances.

Guidance is available to our staff on dealing with complaints in relation to the Welsh language on our intranet. How we deal with complaints forms part of our induction training on our Welsh Language Standards.

How we comply with the standards

Our Executive Director of Corporate Strategy and Development has overall responsibility for the policy.

Our Welsh Language Policy Advisor monitors our work to ensure we comply with the Welsh language standards. We have Welsh Language champions group (Grŵp Pencampwyr) with members from across the organisation to help raise awareness of the standards, and report any issues.

A monitoring exercise is carried out annually asking Team Leaders to complete how their team comply with the Standards and raise awareness of any risks of non-compliance, or issues and any additional support or advice required to ensure compliance.
For each new policy or project an Equality Impact Assessment tool is used to assess the positive or adverse effects it would have on opportunities to use the Welsh language, information is recorded for auditing purposes and signed by our Welsh language policy advisor as part of process.
Staff who have not self-assessed and recorded their Welsh language skills are sent an email reminding them that this action needs to be completed. Line Managers are also asked to ensure staff complete this action.
Welsh language skill assessment for each new or vacant post is agreed by Recruiting Manager and Welsh Language Specialist Advisor, bearing in mind nature, location of post and team capacity of Welsh speakers within the team, whether the Welsh language skills are essential, desirable or need to be learnt for each post. Information is recorded for audit and recording purposes. The Recruitment Team are provided with a copy of the agreed language level prior to advertising.
As part of the induction process with new staff, Managers are required to discuss the requirements of the Standards along with other corporate policies and procedures. The induction checklist is signed by both employee and manager and kept on file.
All new staff attend an Induction course and given a presentation on Welsh Language Standards.
Translation requests are monitored by the Translation Team for compliance with our Welsh Language Translation checklist, issues are highlighted to our Welsh Language Policy Advisor for discussion.
Digital Communications Team ensure compliance with both Welsh Language Standards and Digital Standards which also contain Welsh language requirements in relation to our digital and online services. Issues are raised and discussed with our Welsh Language Specialist Advisor.
A procedure is in place to help contract managers monitor compliance with Welsh Language Standards in contract agreements.
We have a dedicated team who record and deal with all complaints received and ensure that they are dealt with accordingly in a timely manner.

Any risks of not complying with the standards are raised with our Executive Team for discussion with their managers to ensure that staff understand what they are required to do.

How we promote our Welsh services

How we promote our Welsh language services to our customers

We participate in the Welsh Language Commissioner’s Welsh Language Rights Day each year promoting our Welsh language services on our Social Media accounts.
We promote Welsh culture days and events both on the intranet, Yammer and on our Social Media accounts.
All our social media accounts are operated bilingually with the support of our Communications Team.
The splash page on our website provides a language choice to the user each time it accesses our website.
A Cymraeg / English toggle is on the top right corner of each page of our website allowing the user to switch languages easily, with our website and information available in Welsh.
Each of our job vacancies are advertised in Welsh with applicants able to apply in Welsh if they so wish.
Our Customer Care Centre offers a fully bilingual service with all staff fluent Welsh speakers, our automated answering service provides a language choice to each caller.
Our reception desks at our public offices display “Iaith Gwaith” posters and our Welsh speaking staff members will wear a “Iaith Gwaith” badge or lanyard.
All our Welsh speaking staff members have a “Iaith Gwaith” badge or lanyard to wear.
Advertisements we publish done so bilingually with the Welsh text to the left or above the English.

How we promote our Welsh language services to staff

Awareness of the Standards are published on a regular basis on the intranet and Managers Monthly, where Managers are asked to discuss requirements with their teams.
Intranet is available in Welsh and English for staff to use.
There is a dedicated Welsh language page on the intranet with guidance for staff.
Grŵp Pencampwyr members act as liaison between the Welsh Language Policy Advisor and each Directorate in raising awareness of Welsh language requirements.
Bilingual Microsoft Templates are published on the intranet for staff to use in corresponding with others which includes a paragraph on Welsh language requirement considerations when drafting correspondence.
Microsoft Power Point Template in place to help ensure that presentations are available in Welsh and English.
All staff policies, procedures and guidance are available to staff in Welsh on the intranet.
Complaints procedure includes that staff can use the Welsh language during the process.
There is a dedicated Welsh Language Training page on the intranet with information on courses, how to book onto a course and useful hints and tips for learners.
Learning and Development Team will arrange Welsh medium courses upon request by staff.
Our mandatory online courses are in the process of being translated, future new courses will be developed bilingually.
A staff Yammer page is in place for our Welsh Language Training courses and a separate one for our learners to discuss matters around their learning process.
Cysgliad Welsh grammar and spellcheck is available for all staff to use.
Staff can receive information addressed to them personally in Welsh.
A corporate signature template is available for all staff to use which includes the by-line:
"Croesewir gohebiaeth yn Gymraeg a byddwn yn ymateb yn Gymraeg, heb i hynny arwain at oedi. Correspondence in Welsh is welcomed, and we will respond in Welsh without it leading to a delay."

Annual monitoring report

Each year an annual report is written on how we have implemented the standards over the Financial year. The report is presented to our Board and Executive Team for approval, and is published on our website by end of September each year.

Annual monitoring report to Welsh language Commissioner 2014-2015
Annual monitoring report to Welsh language Commissioner 2015-2016
Annual monitoring report to Welsh language Commissioner 2016-2017

Welsh language annual report

Welsh language annual report 2017-2018
Welsh language annual report 2018-2019
Welsh language annual report 2019-2020
Welsh language annual report 2020-2021
Welsh language annual report 2021–2022

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