Welsh language policy has been misunderstood, says council

A council has defended a new policy aimed at increasing the use of Welsh among its staff and councillors, which had attracted "negative" press coverage.

A Denbighshire council report set out how the authority could double the use of Welsh in the workplace and support the aim of reaching a million Welsh speakers by 2050.

Under the now approved plans, all internal communications will be bilingual with Welsh first, staff will be encouraged to take up the language and departments with low performance could be identified "in mystery shopper exercises to receive training".

A council cabinet meeting heard the five-year plan had been "misunderstood" and was intended to "upskill" staff.

The council report said the authority would "create and maintain a database showing the level of Welsh required for each role and the current skills of staff, as a basis for planning, learning, and training".

Speaking at a cabinet meeting earlier this week in which councillors voted to approve the policy, councillor Julie Matthews said it had been reported negatively.

"What it is actually doing is offering an opportunity to staff to upskill," she said.

Matthews said she believed some of the negative coverage may have come from the fact that some people thought speaking Welsh would be "compulsory" for those working for the council.

"But this isn't what the policy is doing. It is just trying to encourage staff and members to use Welsh as widely as possible."

Councillor Rhys Thomas said he thought the report had been "misunderstood", referencing an article he had seen in local media.

"And I was a bit surprised to see what was in that article in the press, because it wasn't what I had read in this policy of the intention of the policy.

"But I've got to start being concerned with the literacy levels of some of our local reporters, if they can misunderstand, as they obviously have done, about the report in front of us this morning. When I read this – and I do approve the policy – I have no problems with it."

He added the policy should help raise confidence among staff using Welsh.

Councillor Emrys Wynne said: "It is an essential part of the Welsh Language Commissioner's policy, and that is why Denbighshire County Council is strengthening this.

"It has existed in Denbighshire for a number of years, but we are strengthening it now to give the same opportunity to all members of staff to master Welsh language at a level they are comfortable with."