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The decisions as the council's minutes record them. A plain-language summary follows once it has been written.
RESOLVED to approve the minutes of the meeting held on 15th October 2024 as an accurate record.
RESOLVED: 1. To note the content of the draft report; 2. To approve the draft report in order for a final version to be published on Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council’s website, and approve the distribution of the final report to each of the authority’s offices that are open to the public by no later than 30 June 2025; and 3. To approve arrangements for publicising the fact that the final annual report has been published.
RESOLVED: 1. To consider the content of the report and to formally amend the wording in section 5.7 of the report to read as follows: It is also likely that further statutory targets concerning the use of Welsh in the workplace, the number of Welsh speakers working for public bodies, and the number of children attending Welsh medium education will be introduced. Further investment may will be needed to ensure the Council’s good reputation for leading in terms of the Welsh language can be sustained as these changes are implemented over the coming years, especially as other organisations seek to increase their own Welsh language offer and compliance levels, and their Welsh-speaking staff base to meet the new requirements; and 2. That the Council will work to implement the vision outlined in the Welsh Language Commissioner’s strategic plan for the period 2025- 2030, in line with its obligations under the Welsh Language Measure 2011, and the forthcoming Welsh Language and Education Act (2025).
The Chair welcomed attendees to the meeting of the Welsh Language Cabinet Sub-Committee and an apology for absence was received from the Cabinet Member for Health and Social Care, County Borough Councillor G Caple.
In accordance with the Code of Conduct, there were no declarations made pertaining to the agenda.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED to approve the minutes of the meeting held on 15th October 2024 as an accurate record.
It was RESOLVED to approve the minutes of the meeting held on 15th October 2024 as an accurate record.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED: 1. To note the content of the draft report; 2. To approve the draft report in order for a final version to be published on Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council’s website, and approve the distribution of the final report to each of the authority’s offices that are open to the public by no later than 30 June 2025; and 3. To approve arrangements for publicising the fact that the final annual report has been published.
The Service Manager for Welsh Language Services provided the Welsh Language Cabinet Sub-Committee with a copy of the Draft Welsh Language Standards Annual Report 2024 – 2025. Members’ attention was drawn to the draft annual report, which was attached at Appendix 1 to the report and sought to outline the work of the Council over the past year to ensure compliance with the Welsh Language Standards. The officer summarised the Council’s many sucesses in embedding arrangements for delivering services through the medium of Welsh, along with the remaining challenges and improvements to be made. The Chair thanked the officer for the report and noted the Council’s continued success in terms of Welsh Language compliance with the 171 Standards during the year. The Chair spoke of the National Eisteddfod, which was hosted by Rhondda Cynon Taf during August 2024 and had been widely celebrated as the ‘best’ of its kind by many attendees. The Chair was pleased to note that the Local Authority had been recognised for the quality of its Welsh Language services and the innovative way it seeks to recruit Welsh Language speakers through its guaranteed interview scheme. The Chair also referred to the Welsh Language Services’ Service Level Agreement to provide Welsh language policy advice to the newly-operational South East Wales Corporate Joint Committee and congratulated the team, which had been recommended to lead on this due to their good reputation in the field. The Chair acknowledged that whilst there were many successes to celebrate, the Council was not complacent and that areas for improvement had been identified. It was noted that the introduction of the Welsh and Education Bill, would impose further statutory targets upon the Council in relation to Welsh medium education and the Council workforce, and the use of Welsh in the workplace, but the Chair was assured that the Council were well prepared for such changes. The Cabinet Member Corporate Services, Youth Participation and Climate Change took the opportunity to praise the work of the Council’s Welsh Language Champions for their promotion of the language in the workplace. The Cabinet Member thanked the Youth Engagement and Participation Service and the staff within the highways department for sharing their knowledge. The Deputy Leader questioned the level of encouragement provided to staff to take up Welsh Language lessons and if there was anything further managers should be doing to provide such opportunities. The Service Manager advised that there was good take up from staff in terms of the learning opportunities, which had been promoted by email and through the staff newsletter. Members were also informed of the upcoming rollout of a phone app within the Council, which would encourage staff to develop their use of the language. In terms of the lessons, the Service Director acknowledged that it was sometimes challenging for managers to release staff but strongly recommended that it should be encouraged, where possible, and emphasised that it was a statutory duty. The Service Manager spoke of the advantages of the Council having its own internal Welsh Language Tutor, who he praised for her flexibility in attempting to accommodate work demands. The Deputy Leader noted the various cultural campaigns promoted during 2024-25 but felt that this could be further expanded upon as a legacy of the 2024 National Eisteddfod. The Service Manager praised the Council for developing the role of the Eisteddfod Officer into the Welsh Language Strategy Community Co-Ordinator and advised that there had been discussions about expanding both local campaigns and national campaigns with a local take as part of the investment. The Deputy Leader noted the handful of complaints received during the period but felt that the number was relatively small given the size of the Local Authority. The Deputy Leader praised the Council for including a question regarding the impact on the Welsh Language within its Shared Prosperity Fund grant application forms. The Service Manager acknowledged that the SPF funding had been a weakness in terms of positively promoting the Welsh Language and explained that the Local Authority wanted to be pro-active in its approach and ensure that the language is organically embedded into community events and projects. The Director for Public Health, Protection and Community Services emphasised the importance of creating an environment and culture within the organisation and the community, whereby individuals feel confident to use the language and, in turn, drive improvement. The Director echoed earlier comments in respect of the dedicated Welsh Language Strategy Community Co-Ordinator, which would bridge the gap between the work of the Council and the community and support the Council in promoting its ethos. The Chair thanked the Service Manager and his team for their work and it was RESOLVED: 1. To note the content of the draft report; 2. To approve the draft report in order for a final version to be published on Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council’s website, and approve the distribution of the final report to each of the authority’s offices that are open to the public by no later than 30 June 2025; and 3. To approve arrangements for publicising the fact that the final annual report has been published.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED: 1. To consider the content of the report and to formally amend the wording in section 5.7 of the report to read as follows: It is also likely that further statutory targets concerning the use of Welsh in the workplace, the number of Welsh speakers working for public bodies, and the number of children attending Welsh medium education will be introduced. Further investment may will be needed to ensure the Council’s good reputation for leading in terms of the Welsh language can be sustained as these changes are implemented over the coming years, especially as other organisations seek to increase their own Welsh language offer and compliance levels, and their Welsh-speaking staff base to meet the new requirements; and 2. That the Council will work to implement the vision outlined in the Welsh Language Commissioner’s strategic plan for the period 2025- 2030, in line with its obligations under the Welsh Language Measure 2011, and the forthcoming Welsh Language and Education Act (2025).
The Service Manager for Welsh Language Services provided the Welsh Language Cabinet Sub-Committee with an outline of the vision and objectives of the Welsh Language Commissioner’s strategic plan for the period 2025 – 2030. Specifically, the strategic plan outlined three strategic objectives which were as follows: - Objective 1: Increase and improve the quality of services available in Welsh, ensuring that more people are aware of those services and use them regularly - Objective 2: Increase wider opportunities to use the Welsh language, creating environments where people can use the language easily and regularly - Objective 3: Lead efforts to advocate for the Welsh language whilst protecting and promoting the interests of its speakers The plan also identified three themes that the Welsh Language Commissioner considered priority areas for work to achieve the objectives and realise its overall vision, namely: - Children and young people – ‘We want to see all children, regardless of background, feel that the Welsh language belongs to them, and they all have an equal opportunity to learn and use Welsh.’ - The workplace – ‘It is vital that Welsh speakers leaving school continue to use the language in their continuing education or training and into the world of work. The challenge is to maintain the Welsh language skills of our young people and turn speakers into long-term users of the language.’ - Health and care – ‘Being able to use Welsh when receiving health and care services is crucial, particularly as we are often in a position of weakness when we seek those services.’ Members’ attention was drawn to section 5 of the report, which summarised the Council’s current position, its progress and the next steps to ensure continued compliance and to maintain the Council’s good standing in this field in light of the Commissioner’s new strategic direction. The Chair thanked the officer for presenting, what he described as, an ambitious and wide-ranging plan. The Chair felt that, moving forward, the close relationship between Local Authorities in Wales and the Welsh Commissioner would be imperative to meet the goals outlined within the plan. It was also pointed out that the Local Authority had either already met many of the goals or had plans in place to achieve them, which the Chair was pleased to note. The Chair commended the Welsh Language Services team and commented that he had every confidence that the Local Authority would deliver the Strategic Plan for 2025-2030. The Cabinet Member for Corporate Services, Youth Participation and Climate Change echoed the Chair’s comments and felt that the amount of work already put into positively promoting the Welsh Language would put the Local Authority in the best place to deliver the priorities identified within the Strategic Plan. The Cabinet Member raised concerns regarding the use of the Welsh Language post-education and questioned if there were any measures in place to actively encourage young people to continue to practice their Welsh Language skills when they leave school. The Service Manager acknowledged the challenges in terms of young people continuing to use their Welsh Language skills post-education. Members were informed of the Welsh Language Service Unit’s work with the Council’s Youth Education and Participation Service to expand their effort and uniquely promote Welsh Language opportunities in response to a request from the Commissioner. The officer also spoke of the Council’s new Welsh Language Strategy Community Co-Ordinator, who would focus on strengthening the work between the Council and the communities; and of the team’s work with the ICT department on one stop shop events, which would focus on ensuring the knowledge and information is readily available for young people to utilise. Furthermore, the officer advised of the Council’s guaranteed interview scheme, which could motivate young people to continue to use their language skills in order to access such employment opportunities. The Chair thanked the officer for his response and added that the challenges of post-statutory education language use was much bigger than the Local Authority and stated that further education, private sector and workplaces had a significant role to play. The Chair noted that Coleg y Cymoedd in RCT would also be reviewing the Commissioner’s Strategic Plan and considering their role and responsibilities to achieve its goals. Referring to section 5.7 of the report, the Deputy Leader asked if Members would be minded to amend the wording from ‘further investment may be needed’ to read ‘further investment will be needed’, as part of recommendation 2.1 contained within the report. The Deputy felt that the stronger wording was needed to emphasise to the Government that more funding would be required for the Local Authority to comply, progress and enhance going forward. The Chair was in agreement with the proposed change to the wording and commented that although the Local Authority utilises its own core funding and maximises grant funding, where available, additional resources are required to achieve such an ambitious plan. Members agreed with the proposed amendment and the Welsh Language Cabinet Sub-Committee RESOLVED: 1. To consider the content of the report and to formally amend the wording in section 5.7 of the report to read as follows: It is also likely that further statutory targets concerning the use of Welsh in the workplace, the number of Welsh speakers working for public bodies, and the number of children attending Welsh medium education will be introduced. Further investment may will be needed to ensure the Council’s good reputation for leading in terms of the Welsh language can be sustained as these changes are implemented over the coming years, especially as other organisations seek to increase their own Welsh language offer and compliance levels, and their Welsh-speaking staff base to meet the new requirements; and 2. That the Council will work to implement the vision outlined in the Welsh Language Commissioner’s strategic plan for the period 2025- 2030, in line with its obligations under the Welsh Language Measure 2011, and the forthcoming Welsh Language and Education Act (2025).
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