Welsh Language Standards Annual Monitoring Report
Overview
In accordance with Standard 152, we have prepared this report to demonstrate our compliance with the Welsh Language Standards during the financial year 2020-21. This provides us with a valuable opportunity to demonstrate our institutional commitment to the Welsh language, and its importance to our work in Wales. Ensuring compliance with the Welsh Language Standards is co-ordinated by the Electoral Commission in Wales, with the support and input of colleagues and other teams across the organization.
Service delivery, policy making and operational standards
During the period 2020-21, there were eight full-time staff in the Electoral Commission's Wales Office, two of whom were fluent Welsh speakers. An audit of the Welsh language ability of all staff working for the Electoral Commission in Wales has recently been undertaken. Staff members assessed their own level, however the levels of some members of staff who have now left have been estimated.
Levels range from 1 to 5 (0 = no level, 1 = entry, 2 = basic, 3 = intermediate, 4 = advanced, 5 =proficiency) in four categories (listening; speaking; reading; writing). The identity of individual staff members is not disclosed; rather, they are referred to by number.
| Staff member | Listening | Speaking | Reading | Writing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| 2 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 4 |
| 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| 6 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| 7 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| 8 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
All staff can greet others through the medium of Welsh, and will do so when answering all telephone calls. They can also refer stakeholders or members of the public to our Welsh speaking staff and services.
In addition to the eight full-time staff, two temporary staff were employed between March and May 2021 to work on the helpline leading up to the Welsh Senedd and Police and Crime Commissioner elections. Both of these employees were fluent Welsh speakers and as such were able to provide a Welsh language service to anyone who contacted us using this helpline.
Staff in Wales have the ability to attend Welsh lessons with the support of the organization, and are encouraged to improve their Welsh language skills.
We have around 171 staff working across the UK.
No members of staff went on courses through the medium of 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.
In addition to the information we provide in relation to our internal use of Welsh policy, we provide our members with useful Welsh terms and phrases. These terms will encourage staff who do not have Welsh language skills to try greeting people in Welsh, and use some Welsh every day.
Electoral Commission staff in Wales have been trained to greet people over the telephone in Welsh / bilingually to ensure that Welsh stakeholders are greeted in Welsh.
In the past year, we advertised the following posts:
- Translator (full time post)
- Communications Officer (fixed term)
- Adviser - Wales (full time post)
All three posts were advertised externally and bilingually.
Welsh language skills were identified as essential to the role in the job description of the Translator and the Communications Officer. In the Adviser's job description it was noted that Welsh language skills were desirable.
The two external, temporary posts employed to work on the helpline leading up to the Welsh Senedd and Police and Crime Commissioner elections were advertised with Welsh language skills essential, and two fluent Welsh speakers were appointed to both roles.
This section addresses complaints in relation to service delivery issues, policy formulation, and implementation. This covers any complaints made directly to the Electoral Commission's Wales Office or any of our other UK offices.
We have put measures in place to ensure that members of the public can submit a complaint through the medium of Welsh, and that we respond in Welsh to complaints received through the medium of Welsh, and that making a complaint in Welsh will not cause any delay.
During the financial year 2020-21, we received notice of a complaint to the Welsh Language Commissioner about how we applied the Welsh Language Standards to an application to register a political party. Shortly afterwards, we also received a pre-action letter regarding possible legal proceedings in relation to our decision on the same application. Having considered the points in the letter, we decided to consider the registration application afresh to ensure that the appropriate process and considerations were addressed, and we have done this. As such, no legal proceedings were filed. As you will be aware, the Welsh Language Commissioner investigated some of the issues raised in the complaint, and we ensured that all assistance was provided to him.
At the end of the 2020-21 period the investigation was still ongoing. However the final conclusion of the investigation was received in August 2021. It was concluded that the Electoral Commission had not failed to comply with the Welsh language standards. Helpfully, some best practice recommendations were made in the final report, and we are implementing these recommendations in the financial year 2021-2022.
The Welsh Language Commissioner's investigation prompted us to conduct an internal review of our compliance with the Welsh language standards with the assistance of the company Ateb. A detailed investigation was undertaken targeting key public facing service areas as well as a program of internal stakeholder engagement. A detailed review was then undertaken into five service areas where more detailed discussions were held with relevant staff. A desk review of relevant internal policies, processes and reports was also completed.
Following the internal review, Ateb submitted a draft Action Plan in March 2021 in order to strengthen our organisation's compliance with the language standards. This Action Plan will also be implemented during the 2021-2022 financial year.
We received one direct complaint from a member of the public in relation to our compliance with the Welsh Language Standards between 1 April 2020 and 31 March 2021. The complaint related to a non-bilingual job advert. The complaint alleged that the Commission was in breach of standards 48, 132, 132A, 133, 133A, 135.
The complaint was acknowledged within the 20 working days we are required to respond to complaints. We concluded that Standards 132 and 132A were not breached, however standards 48, 133 and 133A were breached. Independent of the complaint, we withdrew the recruitment, and therefore no one was disadvantaged.
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 record the preferred language of stakeholders in Wales, ensuring that communication takes place in that language. Other stakeholders will be asked to indicate their preferred language when unknown.
Measures are 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 an answer. 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, the person will be given the option of recall as soon as a Welsh speaker is available.
As such, we have a Welsh language telephone line that transfers directly to a Welsh speaking member of staff, with three fluent Welsh speakers currently working in the Wales Office (2020-21), there is no risk that the call will not be answered within a reasonable time.
All of our publicity and advertising material targeting audiences in Wales, or containing information relevant to Wales, is produced bilingually. In addition, a significant proportion of our publicity and advertising material that does not necessarily affect Wales, or is not aimed specifically at Welsh audiences, is also being translated. This is mainly to ensure that our website is bilingual.
All campaigns conducted in Wales, or relating to Wales, are bilingual. Work continued on our bilingual 'Croeso i’ch Pleidlais /Welcome to Your Vote' campaign set up in the financial year 2019-2020, the campaign was aimed at those voters who are newly enfranchised as a result of the Senedd and Elections (Wales) Act 2020.
During the financial year 2020-21 we launched our 'Oes 5 munud ‘da ti /Got 5 minutes' campaign which encouraged people to register to vote in the May 2021 Elections. In addition, bilingual online resources about the democratic process have been created for the use of teachers and teachers.
When we arrange for visitors to attend meetings, measures are in place to ensure that these visitors receive a Welsh language service, if they wish; they are proactively informed of this. We ask them if they need a Welsh language reception service, however during the financial year 2020-21 this did not apply as no one was visiting the office. Simultaneous translation is available for stakeholders who wish to contribute through the medium of Welsh at virtual meetings when the terms of reference of a meeting state that it will be conducted in Welsh and English. We also provide simultaneous translation at events where stakeholders are invited, e.g. an event for candidates and agents or non-party campaigners.
All of our messages / tweets relating to or affecting Wales are published bilingually on our social media accounts. There is one bilingual 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.
All our guidance and other content relevant to Wales is produced bilingually, and the Welsh and English versions are published at the same time so that there is no gap in Welsh language provision. Where there are updates, the Welsh versions will be updated at the same time as the English versions. 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.
We have a policy on the use of Welsh internally at the Electoral Commission in Wales. This document states that measures are in place to ensure that any member of staff working in the Electoral Commission's Wales Office is able to receive in-house services through the medium of Welsh, if they so wish.
This document is available to all our staff via our intranet. Relevant policies relating to the use of Welsh are available in the HR sections of our intranet.
We have a fully bilingual system. All our human resources policies have been translated and are all available bilingually.
Information relating to each stage of the recruitment process is bilingual when in relation to the Electoral Commission in Wales.
Information relating to any grants or tenders in Wales is published and promoted bilingually, and can be made available in Welsh, if desired.
Electoral Commission events in Wales are advertised and promoted in Welsh and English, and Welsh language provision is available. In addition, information relating to these events, such as leaflets, signs, etc., is bilingual.
Policy making standards are included in our document 'Equality Impact Assessments'. This document is available to all staff via our intranet. The impact of any new policy on the Welsh language will be measured through the Equality Impact Assessment procedure.
Further details and good practice
Welsh Language Advisory Group
The Welsh Advisory Group is a forum to discuss electoral issues relating to Wales and the Welsh language. It aims to ensure that the Welsh language is treated equally in matters of electoral legislation and guidance; it also supports our commitment to Welsh language issues in the wider electoral community. The group includes electoral registration officers, returning officers, electoral administrators, and officers from the Welsh Government.
The group met once during the 2020-21 financial year on the 15th of July. One of the successes of the Welsh Advisory Group has been the creation of the Electoral Vocabulary, this resource continued to be used throughout the financial year 2020-21. It also ensures that electoral services are available in Welsh, and that they are promoted and disseminated, including forms and ballot papers.
Elections 2020-21
During the year 2020-21, we provided Welsh language guidelines for the Senedd and Police and Crime Commissioner elections; we ensured that relevant information for both voters and electoral administrators including guidance on elections and voting campaign resources were available in Welsh at the same time as the equivalent English language provision, in line with our obligations. It was also ensured that information regarding the elections was available bilingually on our website with the use of accessible and clear language toggles at the top of each page.
Terminology and the Electoral Glossary
As noted, the Welsh Advisory Group has created the 'Electoral Glossary', a collection of Welsh terms that can be used by the entire electoral community in Wales. The Glossary will ensure that those involved in the management and conduct of elections in Wales can use the same terminology in electoral documentation, ensuring consistency across the country.
Looking forward and next steps
As mentioned above, a draft Action Plan was submitted in the financial year 2020-21. Work to implement this Action Plan together with the Welsh Language Commissioner's recommendations is ongoing during the 2021-22 financial year. We are setting up a working group with staff members across the organization involved to ensure the plan is realised. Our progress in implementing the compliance scheme will be measured. In addition we are appointing a senior level proprietor for the Welsh language standards within the Executive Team.
As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, language awareness sessions were not held during 2020-21. However, over the next year, language awareness sessions will be planned, and sessions on how to greet someone in Welsh. These sessions will be available to any member of staff, with those dealing with the public particularly being encouraged to attend. This is in addition to the occasional use of Welsh when communicating with English-speaking staff (such as greetings, farewells, etc.), and encouragement to use the language in such a way as to maintain an ongoing awareness of it.