How the authority complies with the Welsh Language Standards

Implementation of the Standards on a day-to-day is corporately through the Chief Transformation Officer down to services through Heads of Service. Each service area has a Welsh Language Champion as the main channel for information (inward and outward) relevant to their work areas and practices.

During 2020 / 2021 the council created the new post of Standards Officer. At the time of writing the post is currently being recruited. The Standards Officer will be a Welsh speaker and take over the corporate day-to-day implementation of the Standards and overall promotion of the Welsh language from the Chief Transformation Officer.

The Cabinet Member for Education Improvement, Learning and Skills champions Welsh Language Standards at a political level. The Cabinet Member for Supporting Communities also supports the Welsh Language Standards through the lens of the Wellbeing and Future Generations Act.

The Welsh Language Standards, Welsh Translation Unit and bilingual first point of contact for many services are managed by Customer Services and there are many individuals within the team who are now able to offer advice around compliance with the Standards.

The Welsh Language Annual Report is presented to the Corporate Management Team (senior management) and the Service Improvement and Finance Scrutiny Performance Panel (Scrutiny Committee) prior to publishing.

Data is collected and recorded across a range of internal systems, for example via the council's Enterprise Resource Planning (EARP), e-learning, and complaints systems. There is also a dedicated Microsoft Teams site which Heads of Service access for information, resources and learning from any complaints. Data is analysed and reported in the annual Welsh language report along with any conclusions and recommendations moving forward.

In accordance with standards 81 and 82, the council promotes, advertises and communicates in both Welsh and English. Separate websites and social media accounts are in place for both Welsh and English. The council's main telephone contact centres are bilingual.

The future development of the Welsh language across Swansea and beyond is fundamentally linked with Welsh Medium Education and this aspect is dealt with specifically in the council's Welsh in Education Strategic Plan. The Council is currently in the process of drafting our first 10-year Welsh in Education Strategic Plan. This will be consulted upon in Autumn 2021 with the plan going live in September 2022.

During 2021-22 the Council is looking to introduce a breach panel process so that any breaches of the standards can be logged, reported, and managed with learning communicated across the organisation.