Welsh Language Standards Annual Monitoring Report - 2025-2026

By the end of the 2025-26 financial year, a total of 18 members of staff were based at the Electoral Commission office in Wales,11 posts were part of the Wales team and seven posts from other teams within the Commission, as well as three homeworkers based in Wales. The total number of staff working at the Commission at one time during the 2025/26 reporting period was 304.  

An audit of the Welsh language ability of all staff working for the Electoral Commission in the Wales office was undertaken during April 2025 using the recognised Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR). Staff members were asked to assess their own level.

Levels range from Basic user (A1, A2) independent user (B1, B2) and proficient user (C1, C2) in five categories (listening, reading, spoken interaction, spoken production and writing).

 

All relevant staff in Wales can greet others in Welsh and will do so when answering all telephone calls. They also refer stakeholders or members of the public to our Welsh speaking staff and services if required.

Staff in Wales can attend Welsh lessons with the support of the organisation and are encouraged to improve their Welsh language skills.

No members of staff requested internal courses to be delivered in Welsh during the past year. However, in accordance with Standard 124, staff are aware that training courses offered in-house are available through the medium of Welsh, if so desired.

During the 2025/26 financial period, a new internal Learning Management System was introduced. The system enables staff to complete online training modules virtually and at a time that suits them. Courses can be made available in both English and Welsh through a toggle function. A dedicated Welsh Awareness course is also available on the system for new staff to complete during their induction period.

In September 2025, we advertised the following posts:

•    Senior Adviser, Regulation and Campaigning (Wales)
•    Communications and Engagement Officer (Wales)

Both positions were advertised externally and bilingually. It was noted in the job specification for Communications and Engagement Officer role that Welsh language skills were desirable. Welsh language skills we’re not specified in the Senior Adviser, Regulation and Campaigning role job specification.

As part of the process for creating or advertising new and existing roles, there is a step to consider and determine whether Welsh language skills are essential, desirable, or not required. Where Welsh language skills are not required for a role, it is not included in the job description; it would only be specified where those skills are considered essential or desirable.

We have implemented measures to ensure that members of the public can submit a complaint in Welsh and then receive a response in Welsh.

This section addresses complaints in relation to issues of service provision, policy making, and implementation. This includes any complaints made directly to any of the Electoral Commission’s offices in the UK.

We have implemented measures to ensure that members of the public can submit a complaint in Welsh and then receive a response in Welsh.

During 2025–2026, the Commission received one complaint regarding compliance with the Welsh Language Standards in March 2026. The complaint related to the Welsh-language version of an Electoral Commission webpage, where some content, buttons, search results and links were available in English only. The complainant said this created an inconsistent experience for Welsh speakers and did not provide a fully Welsh-language service. The issue was rectified within the required timeframe, and the page is now fully available in Welsh.

We have measures in place to ensure that all our correspondence with stakeholders in Wales is sent bilingually. In addition, measures are in place to ensure that any correspondence we receive in Welsh receives a reply in Welsh. We continue to review and strengthen our process to ensure these standards are kept.

Measures are also in place to ensure that all members of the public who contact us by email or telephone can do so in Welsh, and that doing so will not delay any response. If a member of the public calls us and wishes to use the Welsh language, they can do so. If no Welsh speaker is available at that time, they will be given the option of a call-back as soon as a Welsh speaker is available.

We have a Welsh language telephone service that transfers directly to a Welsh speaking member of staff. With up to seven fluent Welsh speakers working at any one time in the Wales team during the 2025-26 financial year, it ensured that there were no delays when answering Welsh language calls.

In March 2026 for the period leading up to the Senedd elections (held in May 2026) two bilingual public information officer were appointed to ensure that dedicated members of staff were available to answer enquiries in Welsh and English.

All publicity and advertising material in Wales, or material containing information relevant to Wales, is produced bilingually.

When we arrange for external partners to attend meetings, measures are in place to ensure that these partners receive a Welsh language service, if they so wish. Simultaneous translation is available for stakeholders who wish to contribute in Welsh at virtual meetings when the terms of reference of the meeting state that it will be conducted in Welsh and English. We also provide simultaneous translation at any in-person events where stakeholders are invited.

All campaigns conducted in Wales, or relating to Wales, are bilingual.
During the financial year 2025-26 we continued our ‘Dwi wedi cofrestru i bleidleisio/I’m registered to vote” campaign to encourage the public to register to vote for the 2026 Senedd elections. The need for this campaign to work in both Welsh and English was considered from the outset and the campaigns were designed with this requirement in mind.

In the 2025-26 financial year we explored options of different social media platforms and how to ensure that the content that we share is bilingual. In the period leading up to the Senedd elections, a strategy was developed to ensure that all our posts related to Wales on the Electoral Commission platforms Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn were shared bilingually. A Wales specific TikTok account was also created to ensure both Welsh and English content could be shared in a creative and engaging way.

All messaging relating to or affecting Wales are published on our bilingual X (Twitter) account (@ElectoralWales) which is managed by staff at the Electoral Commission in Wales. Information specifically intended for Wales is produced and shared by this account. Tweets are created bilingually, either within a single tweet, or through a separate tweet that is shared at the same time. 

If anyone contacts us in Welsh through our social media, there are measures in place to ensure that they receive a reply in Welsh, and that this does not delay a reply.

During the current financial year, we have created a new Senior Digital Engagement Officer (Welsh Language) role to continue building on this work.
 

All guidance and content relevant to Wales is produced bilingually, and we publish the Welsh and English versions at the same time. Where there are updates, Welsh versions will be updated and published with the English versions. Our Welsh language translators have direct access and editing rights on our website so that guidance can be updated seamlessly.  

All guidance on our website was checked and proofed by our Welsh language team as an additional quality assurance measure. 

Where Welsh language provision is available, it is proactively promoted, and the option for Welsh language content is clearly shown on equivalent English language content.

All human resources policies have been translated and are all available bilingually.
 

Job descriptions and specifications advertised in Wales that are posted on the portal are available in both Welsh and English on our recruitment portal to recruit and appoint new staff. During the reporting period we corrected a fault to ensure that the portal itself is available in Welsh, the portal is now available fully in both English and Welsh.

When applicants are offered an interview for a Wales team-based role they can choose to be interviewed in Welsh or English with the assistance of simultaneous translation. This was implemented for all posts advertised for the Wales team during the reporting period.

Information relating to any grants or tenders in Wales is published and promoted bilingually.

Electoral Commission events held in Wales are advertised and promoted bilingually, with Welsh language provision available to attendees. Supporting materials relating to these events, including leaflets and signage, are also produced in both Welsh and English.

In the period leading up to the Senedd election, we worked in partnership with organisations including the Senedd and the FAW to attend events and inform the public about the forthcoming changes to Senedd elections. Bilingual staff were present at each event.

Our policy making standards are incorporated into the Equality Impact Assessment process, which is available to all staff through the intranet. As part of this process, the potential impact of any new policy on the Welsh language is considered and assessed.

All projects are also required to prepare a project definition document. This document must include consideration of the Welsh Language Standards and assess any potential impact the project may have on Welsh language matters and must receive sign-off by the Senior Welsh Language Adviser.

Within the Wales team we have 5 full time permanent members of staff dedicated to our Welsh language provision which are as follows.

•    Senior Welsh Language Adviser
•    Welsh Language Communications Adviser
•    Welsh Translator x 3

During the 2025-26 financial year we awarded and finalised a contract to an external translation company, Bla Translations Ltd as an additional resource to be used during busy periods. This mitigates the risk of material not being published bilingually due to increased volume of work. We have a dedicated translation budget for this purpose.

We have an internal online translation request system to manage in-house translation. The system is also used to document and record our translation work with an internal dashboard that is updated weekly.

During the 2025-26 period we held 1 in-person awareness session at our Cardiff office and 1 virtual awareness session.

The sessions focused on; 
-    The history of the Welsh language
-    The Welsh language and culture today 
-    The Welsh Language Standards (What they are, why they exist and how they affect our work).

These sessions have continued in the 2026-27 financial year and we will explore how we can expand on Welsh language awareness within the Commission.