Agenda and minutes

The Chair welcomed the attendees to the meeting of the Welsh Language Cabinet Steering Group.

An apology for absence was received from County Borough Councillor E. Stephens.

To receive disclosures of personal interest from Members in accordance with the Code of Conduct.

Note:

1.     Members are requested to identify the item number and subject matter that their interest relates to and signify the nature of the personal interest.

2.     Where Members withdraw from a meeting as a consequence of the disclosure of a prejudicial interest they must notify the Chairman when they leave.

In accordance with the Council’s Code of Conduct, there were no declarations made pertaining to the agenda.

To receive the minutes of the Welsh Language Cabinet Steering Group meeting, which was held on the 29^th April 2019.

It was RESOLVED to approve as an accurate record, the minutes of the meeting of the Welsh Language Cabinet Steering Group held on 29^th April 2019.

To receive a presentation from the Youth Services Manager in respect of the positive progress being made on the roll out of Welsh Language in the service area.

With the aid of a PowerPoint presentation, the Youth Services Manager provided the Welsh Language Cabinet Steering Group with a comprehensive overview of the positive progress made within the Youth Engagement and Participation Service in relation to the Welsh Language.

The Steering Group were provided with information in respect of the staff numbers and those who are fluent in the medium of Welsh; the bilingual activities and projects on offer during the daytime, evenings and in the holidays; and the different levels of support on offer to young people who wish to access services through the medium of Welsh.

The officer detailed the strengths of the service and it was pleasing to learn that each sub-service area contained at least one fluent Welsh speaker. The officer was also pleased to speak of additional funding, which led towards four newly appointed Mental Health and Wellbeing Officers, one of which could communicate through the medium of Welsh. Members acknowledged the importance of the role and the need for young people to access the support in the language of their choice.

The officer drew the Group’s attention to the results of the ‘Your Voice’ survey, where it was concluded that out of the 17 schools within RCT,26.8% of pupils are able to speak Welsh, but disappointingly, only 2.7% of those use the language outside of school. Discussions ensued around the ‘broad’ questions asked during the survey, with Menter Iaith commenting that rephrased or follow up questions often provide more clear and concise data. It was added that during recent surveys conducted by Menter Iaith, figures portrayed a more positive picture of the use of the Welsh Language by young people. However, the difficulty of collating such data was acknowledged, with both Members and officers agreeing that a lack of confidence when self-analysing their usage is a key issue for many learners.

Members discussed the psychology of communicating through the medium of Welsh, commenting that young people often choose to socialise in English, regardless of their knowledge of the language. They agreed that the culture of the language in many parts of South Wales, remains a challenge when promoting the language, as many people in RCT consider it a hindrance when communicating through the medium of Welsh.

Nonetheless, the Steering Group were pleased to note the progress outlined within such an integral service area to treat the Welsh Language no less favourably than the English Language. The presentation detailed many opportunities on offer, which encourage young people to gradually their language skills at a range of different ages.

The Chair thanked the officer for the presentation and it was RESOLVED to acknowledge the update.

The Steerign Group agreed that the agenda would be considered out of sequence as detailed in the minutes set out hereunder.

To receive the report of the Director, Public Health, Protection and Community Services, providing the Welsh Language Steering Group with an overview of the Council’s performance against the Welsh Language Promotion Strategy Action Plan, as approved on January 25^th 2017.

The Service Director of Community Services provided the Welsh Language Cabinet Steering Group with an overview of the Council’s performance against the Welsh Language Promotion Strategy Action Plan, as approved on January 25^th 2017.

The Service Director provided the Steering Group with background to the Strategy and advised that the Plan was developed under Section 145 of the Compliance Notice issued under section 44 of the Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011 and was developed over the course of 2016 in partnership with Sbectrwm, Menter Iaith, Council Services and Elected Members.

Members were reminded that the Action Plan is divided into 2 parts and that all activities and targets are allocated across a number of different themes. Part 1 of the Action Plan outlines the activities and targets that the Council is responsible for achieving either through direct delivery or through the commissioning of services from partner organisations and Part 2 outlines the activities and targets that Fforwm Iaith members are responsible for achieving under their current funding agreements with Welsh Government.

The Service Director spoke of the positive actions taken within RCT to meet the targets set out within the report and Members were referred to Appendix 1, where the progress against targets for each individual service area was detailed. Members were pleased to learn that significant progress had been made in respect of some themes with some targets having already been met within timescales. The Chair was particularly pleased with the progress detailed in respect of the Flying Start provision and commented that he had recently witnessed a swimming lesson being held through the medium of Welsh.

It was recognised that an integral element of the strategy is enhancing the offer to staff and supporting them to access the training available. The Service Director was pleased to confirm that many members of staff were engaging, whether that was as a new learner or as a speaker with a lack of confidence.  She explained that Welsh Government has now introduced funded training for Cymraeg Gwaith/Work Welsh. 

Members went on to discuss the challenges, which the Council still face, and raised a concern in respect of the action, which permits the Council to ‘introduce Welsh as the main medium of teaching in the Foundation Phase in some English-medium primary schools’. The Service Director advised that many of the targets were recognised at the time of development to be ambitious and some were proving to be so in practice for a variety of reasons; and agreed that there was need for certain aims within the Plan to be rephrased.

Discussions ensued around future planning developments and the subsequent need for new schools. One Member spoke of his own ward, commenting that although it is positive for plans to include the provision for Welsh medium schools, there was concern that there was higher demand for English medium or bilingual schools. It was acknowledged that the Authority’s current Local Development Plan must give due regard to a technical advice note  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

To receive the report of the Director, Public Health, Protection and Community Services, providing the Welsh Language Steering Group with a revised list of Standardised Welsh Place-names as originally published by the Welsh Language Commissioner in July 2018.

The Welsh Language Service Manager provided the Welsh Language Cabinet Steering Group with a further update in respect of the List of Standardised Welsh Place-names as published by the Welsh Language Commissioner in July 2018 and the Council’s responsibilities in relation to this.

The officer reminded Members of the lengthy discussion on the complexities surrounding the adoption of the Welsh Language Commissioner’s list of standardised place-names at the Welsh Language Cabinet Steering Group meeting on 10^th October 2018.  During the meeting, Members resolved, with the agreement of Cabinet, that the Chair of the Steering Group seek written confirmation from the Welsh Language Commissioner to establish the rationale of the list prior to any consultation with local communities. Subsequent correspondence from the Commissioner’s office requested that the Council put any consultation process on hold and as such, the Chair of the Welsh Language Cabinet Steering Group responded to the Welsh Language Commissioner agreeing that it would be inadvisable to progress with any consultation based on the published list.

Members were informed that following the above-mentioned decision, a revised list of standardised place-names had been published by the Commissioner and was before them, which included some detail and rationale on the recommendations.

Members were unanimous in their feelings towards adopting any of the recommended changes to the place names within RCT and commented that it would be for the residents of each individual area to decide on its name. The Steering Group felt that although a slight change to a place name might be insignificant to the Members, it might have some significance to the individuals who reside in the area.

Following consideration, the Welsh Language Cabinet Steering Group RESOLVED:

a)    To recommend that Cabinet refuse to adopt the List of Welsh Place-names as applicable to Rhondda Cynon Taf. Until otherwise agreed, the Council will continue to utilise the current names outlined within Rhondda Cynon Taf’s Local Land and Property Gazetteer (LLPG).

b)    That subject to Cabinet’s endorsement of the above-mentioned recommendation, the Chair of the Welsh Language Cabinet Steering Group writes to the Welsh Language Commissioner outlining the Local Authority’s position and to request that the current forms of place-names applicable to Rhondda Cynon Taf are used on the Commissioner’s website.