Venue: Siambr Hywel Dda - Council Offices
Contact: Eirian Roberts 01286 679018
No. | Item |
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CHAIRMAN To elect a
Chairman for 2015/16. Additional documents: Minutes: RESOLVED to elect Councillor Gweno Glyn as
Chair of this committee for 2015/16. |
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VICE-CHAIRMAN To elect a
Vice-Chairman for 2015/16. Additional documents: Minutes: RESOLVED to elect Councillor Eirwyn Williams as vice-chair of this
committee for 2015/16. |
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APOLOGIES To receive apologies for absence. Additional documents: Minutes: Councillors Elwyn Edwards, Alwyn Gruffydd, Siân Gwenllian and Elfed Williams. |
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DECLARATION OF PERSONAL INTEREST To receive any declaration of personal interest Additional documents: Minutes: No declarations of personal interest were received from any members present. |
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URGENT BUSINESS To note any items that are a matter of urgency in the view of the Chairman for consideration Additional documents: Minutes: The Chair
referred to a matter raised by a member of this committee at the previous
meeting of the Planning Committee, namely that language impact assessments
should be distributed with the agendas of the Planning Committee. The Senior Manager –
Democracy and Delivery explained the background to this and he noted:- ·
The Chairman of the Planning Committee had
explained that the issue of which papers would be included or not was not a
matter for the committee and it was agreed that it would be possible to discuss
the distribution process at the appropriate scrutiny committee meeting or the
Language Committee. ·
The Communities Scrutiny Committee was about
to commence a scrutiny investigation on the planning procedure and this matter
would be addressed at the Preparatory Meeting of the committee in July. ·
Should the matter not be addressed by the
Communities Scrutiny Committee, then it could be addressed by this
committee. RESOLVED to note the matter and to request
that the Communities Scrutiny Committee informs this committee if it intends to
address this matter or not. |
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The
Chairman shall propose that the minutes of the previous meeting of this
committee held on 23 April, 2015 be signed as a true record (attached) Additional documents: Minutes: The Chairman signed the minutes
of the previous meeting of this committee, held on 23 April, 2015, as a true
record. |
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REPORT OF THE CABINET MEMBER - THE WELSH LANGUAGE To consider
the verbal report of the Cabinet Member – The Welsh Language. Additional documents: Minutes: Submitted – the verbal report of
the Cabinet Member for the Welsh Language, providing details on the recent
developments in the field, including the input of the departments to the
Strategic Plan, discussions of the Local Services Board, the success of the
Language Charter, commencing the process of consultation with organisations on
the Compliance Notice on Welsh Language Standards and the success of the
application for capital funding for the Bangor Language Centre. RESOLVED to note the content of the report. |
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CONSULTATION ON THE LANGUAGE STANDARDS - COMPLIANCE NOTES PDF 262 KB To consider
the report of the Members Manager – Democratic Services (and Language) (attached). Additional documents: Minutes: Submitted – the report of the
Democratic (and Language) Service Manager, requesting members to discuss and
agree on a way to secure the input of the Language Committee on the
consultation on Language Standards – Compliance Notice. RESOLVED to call a special
meeting of this committee to discuss the matter on a date that is convenient to the
Cabinet Member for the Welsh Language. |
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ANNUAL REPORT ON THE WELSH LANGUAGE SCHEME 2014-15 PDF 11 KB To consider
the report of the Members Manager – Democratic Services (and Language) (attached). Additional documents: Minutes: Submitted – the report of the Democratic (and Language) Service Manager, requesting members to accept and approve the Annual Report on the Language Scheme 2014/15 which was to be sent to the Welsh Language Commissioner by 30 June 2015. An amended table was distributed, providing details of the Regulatory Department staff’s language skills. During the ensuing discussion it was noted:- ·
On the whole, the language skill levels of the staff were
very heartening but care had to be taken that the cuts did not lead to
deterioration in these figures. ·
The cause of the greatest concern in terms of language
compliance were the third party agreements in the field of Social Services and
it was suggested that it would be valuable to receive a report later on in the
year from the Task Group that had been established in response to the
requirements of ‘More Than Just Words’. ·
The number of non-Welsh speaking traffic wardens in
the Transportation and Street Care Unit was high. It was
emphasised that there was a need to encourage managers to influence their staff
to take advantage of the training available and that it was important that
non-Welsh speaking staff received every support to achieve the necessary
standard. It was suggested that the Learning
and Development Team could be requested to provide a presentation to the next
Language Committee on issues such as how they identified people who needed
training, how much pressure could be placed on them, how they developed staff
etc. ·
There was a need to return to the departments to ask
for clarity regarding some of the figures and also to look behind the data that
had been submitted to ascertain whether a work programme for the committee
could be formulated from it. RESOLVED (a) To accept and approve the Annual Report to be sent to the Welsh
Language Commissioner by 30 April, 2015. (b) To request a report for this committee later on in the year from the Task Group that was established in response to the requirements of ‘More Than Just Words’. (c) To request the Learning and Development
Team to provide a presentation at the next meeting on
the process of developing non- Welsh speaking staff. |
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(a) To submit Trywydd’s
Executive Summary (attached). (b) To receive a presentation on the
findings of the research work. Additional documents: Minutes: Submitted – the
Trywydd Executive Summary and the Democratic (and
Language) Services Manager provided a presentation on the findings of the
research work. She elaborated
upon the requirements of the brief, size of the sample/the methodology and the
main findings and she provided details on the individual fields per theme and
recommendation, namely:- ·
Defining the
linguistic nature of the schools ·
The way in which schools promote and facilitate the
use of the Welsh language ·
Language use
and the Curriculum ·
Pupils’ use of the language outside the classroom ·
The factors which influence the children's language
use ·
Attitudes
towards the Welsh language ·
The Welsh language outside the school An overview of
the findings of the research was provided along with the recommendations
responding to those findings and outlining what the Council would be
undertaking over the next year in response to the recommendation in terms of:- ·
Language Practices Project ·
Hunaniaith Project ·
Strategic Plan 2015/16 During the
ensuing discussion it was noted:- ·
The good work achieved in the primary schools
disappeared as the children moved up to the secondary sector even in the
strongholds of the Welsh language. ·
It was important that the Council provided guidance in
this respect and it would be desirable to see the response of the Education
Department to the Trywydd report. ·
There was a need for children and young people to see
that bilingualism offered better opportunities to them and this needed to be
driven by the county and the Education Department. ·
The members should not be satisfied that everything
was in place. ·
Ideally, children should attend the language centres
prior to commencing their time in the local schools so that they were not
labelled from the beginning as not being Welsh speakers. However, it
acknowledged that this was not always possible as the programme of the centres
were run on a per term basis. ·
It was important that after-school sports coaches used
the Welsh language and it would worthwhile looking into the idea of nominating
a Welsh Language Coaching Champion within the Council. ·
It had been a good idea to commission a company from
outside the area to undertake the survey as it had been possible to look at the
situation more objectively. ·
The ethos of a school depended on the head teacher and
the senior management team and if they saw no value in the social use of Welsh
for children, then it would be a difficult task. ·
The Council had to act where it had influence and
although the Education Department was trying to push this forward, ensuring
success within a short period of time would be more challenging in the
secondary sector. The Democratic (and Language)
Service Manager was thanked for the presentation. |
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STANDARDS COMMITTEE APPOINTMENTS PDF 125 KB To consider
the report of the Head of Legal Services
(attached). Additional documents: Minutes: Submitted - the
report of the Monitoring Officer, reporting on the appointment procedure to the
Standards Committee as a result of the concern expressed at the last meeting
that the Council had appointed two independent non-Welsh speaking members on
the committee. The Monitoring
Officer noted further:- ·
The response level to the advertisement had been low
and only one of the seven applicants who had been interviewed was a fluent
Welsh speaker. ·
The work was based on the criteria established by the
full Council in 2012 and the only national guidance in existence on the matter
was in draft form and noted that it was a requirement to have one Welsh
speaking member on the Standards Committee. ·
It could not be insisted that the Welsh language was
essential for the post because of the nature and cross-section of the
committee. During the
discussion, it was noted:- ·
A requirement for Welsh to be essential would mean
that there would be different criteria for elected members and independent
members serving on the Standards Committee. ·
The current balance of the Standards Committee (i.e. 5
non-Welsh speakers and 4 Welsh speakers) was not a reflection of the linguistic
balance of the county. ·
It was a disappointment that so few Welsh speakers had
applied because it tied the hands of the Appointments Panel and more work
needed to be done to promote awareness of the function, e.g. by advertising the
opportunity in the local papers. ·
Members of the Council could be informed when the
opportunity arose so that they could draw this to the attention of Welsh
speakers within their wards who could have an interest in applying for the
post. RESOLVED to accept the information and to
emphasise the importance of working to try to ensure that the membership of the
Committee reflects the nature of the county’s communities. |
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LANGUAGE COMPLAINTS PDF 120 KB To receive
the report of the Gwynedd Language Development Officer (Workplace)
(attached). Additional documents: Minutes: Submitted – the
report of the Gwynedd Welsh Language Development Officer (Workforce), detailing
the latest language complaints to hand. A member noted
that the Performing Rights Society had refused a cheque written in Welsh by him
and it was suggested that the member should send the full details to the
officers. RESOLVED to note the content of the report. |