LegalizeThe Welsh Language Standards (No. 4) Regulations 2016
Made: 15 March 2016
Coming into force: 22 March 2016
The Welsh Ministers, in exercise of the powers conferred upon them by sections 26, 27, 39 and 150(5) of the Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011[^f00001], having received the approval of the National Assembly for Wales in accordance with section 150(2) of that Measure, make the following Regulations:
Title, commencement, application and interpretation
1
- (1) The title of these Regulations is the Welsh Language Standards (No. 4) Regulations 2016.
- (2) These Regulations come into force on 22 March 2016.
- (3) These Regulations apply in relation to Wales.
- (4) In these Regulations—
- a “body” (“corff”) means a person listed in Schedule 6; an “individual” (“unigolyn”) means a member of the public; a “member of staff” (“aelod o staff”) means an employee of a body or an individual working for a body but not a person appointed to a body by the Welsh Ministers, a Minister of the Crown or by County or County Borough Councils in Wales[^f00002] (and “staff” (“staff”) must be construed accordingly).
- (5) In these Regulations—
- (a) references to any activity being carried out by a body, or to any service being provided by a body, are to be read as including a reference to that activity being carried out on the body’s behalf or to that service being provided on the body’s behalf by a third party under arrangements made between the third party and the body;
- (b) accordingly, unless a compliance notice provides to the contrary, a body will have failed to comply with a standard in respect of an activity or service it has arranged to be carried out or provided by a third party if that activity or service has not been carried out or provided in accordance with the standard.
- (6) Nothing in these Regulations requires a body to comply with a standard in respect of an activity carried out by it or a service provided by it where it is carrying out that activity or providing that service on behalf of a third party under arrangements made between it and the third party.
Standards specified
2
- (1) In Schedule 1—
- (a) Part 1 specifies service delivery standards;
- (b) Part 2 provides that a compliance notice must require a body to comply with certain standards specified in Part 1 if it has required the body to comply with certain other standards;
- (c) Part 3 defines a number of words and expressions.
- (2) In Schedule 2—
- (a) Part 1 specifies policy making standards;
- (b) Part 2 defines a number of words and expressions.
- (3) In Schedule 3—
- (a) Part 1 specifies operational standards;
- (b) Part 2 provides that a compliance notice must require a body to comply with certain standards specified in Part 1 if it has required the body to comply with certain other standards;
- (c) Part 3 defines a number of words and expressions.
- (4) In Schedule 4—
- (a) Part 1 specifies record keeping standards;
- (b) Part 2 defines a number of words and expressions.
- (5) Schedule 5 specifies standards that deal with matters which are supplementary to the matters dealt with in the standards specified in Schedules 1 to 4 and, in particular—
- (a) Part 1 specifies service delivery standards that deal with supplementary matters;
- (b) Part 2 specifies policy making standards that deal with supplementary matters;
- (c) Part 3 specifies operational standards that deal with supplementary matters;
- (ch) Part 4 specifies record keeping standards that deal with supplementary matters;
- (d) Part 5 makes provision about interpreting the supplementary standards;
- (dd) Part 6 makes supplementary provision.
Standards that are specifically applicable
3
- (1) The Welsh Ministers authorise the Welsh Language Commissioner to give a compliance notice to the persons listed in Schedule 6 requiring them to comply with any of the standards specified under regulation 2 and Schedules 1 to 5.
- (2) But the Commissioner is not authorised to give a compliance notice to—
- (a) the Adjudication Panel for Wales, the Agricultural Land Tribunal (Wales), the Mental Health Review Tribunal for Wales, the Residential Property Tribunal Wales and the Special Educational Needs Tribunal for Wales requiring them to comply with the following standards—
- (i) 92 to 139,
- (ii) 144 to 148,
- (iii) 161 to 166;
- (b) Social Care Wales requiring it to comply with standard 60.
SCHEDULE 1 — Service delivery standards
PART 1 — THE STANDARDS
Standards relating to correspondence sent by a body
that you welcome receiving correspondence in Welsh, that you will respond to correspondence in Welsh, and that corresponding in Welsh will not lead to delay.
PART 2 — STANDARDS THAT ARE RELIANT ON OTHER STANDARDS – SPECIAL CONDITIONS
When a compliance notice requires a body to comply with one of the standards listed on a specific row in column 1 of Table 1, that compliance notice must also require that body to comply (in whatever way the Welsh Language Commissioner considers appropriate) with the standard or standards listed in column 2 of that row (or with one or more of those standards where that is stated).
| Column 1 | Column 2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Row | Main standard | Reliant standard |
| (1) | Replying to correspondence | |
| Standard 1 | Standard 7 | |
| (2) | Corresponding with members of the same household | |
| Standard 3 | Standard 6 | |
| (3) | Corresponding with several persons | |
| Standard 4 | Standard 6 Standard 7 | |
| (4) | General standards relating to correspondence | |
| Standard 5 | Standard 6 Standard 7 | |
| (5) | Raising awareness about corresponding in Welsh | |
| Standard 7 | Standard 1 | |
| (6) | Receiving telephone calls | |
| Standard 9 | One or more of the following: Standard 10 Standard 11 | |
| (7) | Receiving telephone calls | |
| Standard 10 or 11 | Standard 9 Standard 14 | |
| (8) | Raising awareness about telephone services in Welsh | |
| Standard 14 | One or more of the following: Standard 10 Standard 11 and also Standard 16, and Standard 17 | |
| (9) | Meetings with one person | |
| Standard 24 One or more of the following: | Standard 24A Standard 24B | |
| (10) | Meetings with one person | |
| Standard 24A or 24B | Standard 24 | |
| (11) | Meetings with more than one person | |
| Standard 25 | One or more of the following: Standard 25A Standard 25B Standard 25C and also one of more of the following; Standard 25CH Standard 25D | |
| (12) | Meetings with more than one person | |
| Standard 25A, 25B, 25C, 25CH or 25D | Standard 25 | |
| (13) | Public meetings | |
| Standard 26 | Standard 29 | |
| (14) | Public meetings | |
| Standard 29 | Standard 26 | |
| (15) | Documents | |
| Standard 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, or 43 | Standard 44 Standard 45 | |
| (16) | Forms | |
| Standard 46 | Standard 46A Standard 46B | |
| (17) | Legal proceedings | |
| Standard 50 | Standard 50A | |
| (18) | Legal proceedings | |
| Standard 50A | Standard 50 | |
| (19) | Websites | |
| Standard 52, 53 or 54 | Standard 55 | |
| (20) | Signs | |
| Standard 61 or 62 | Standard 63 | |
| (21) | Reception | |
| Standard 64 | Standard 67 Standard 68 | |
| (22) | Reception | |
| Standard 65 | Standard 65A | |
| (23) | Reception | |
| Standard 66 | Standard 67 | |
| (24) | Raising awareness of Welsh-language services in a reception | |
| Standard 67 | One or more of the following:Standard 64 Standard 66 | |
| (25) | Contracts | |
| Standard 72 | Standard 72A Standard 75 | |
| (26) | Contracts | |
| Standard 73 or 74 | Standard 72 Standard 72A |
PART 3 — INTERPRETING THE STANDARDS
The standards specified in Part 1 of this Schedule must be interpreted as follows.
but a body will not be treating the Welsh language less favourably than the English language by not publishing an invitation to tender in Welsh in the Official Journal of the European Union.
SCHEDULE 2 — Policy making Standards
PART 1 — THE STANDARDS
Standards relating to considering the effects of a body’s policy decisions on the Welsh language
PART 2 — INTERPRETING THE STANDARDS
In Part 1 of this Schedule a “policy decision” means any decision made by a body about the exercise of its functions or about the conduct of its business or other undertaking, and it includes, amongst other things (and as appropriate to the body), decisions about —
- (a) the content of legislation;
- (b) the exercise of statutory powers;
- (c) the content of policy statements;
- (ch) strategies or strategic plans;
- (d) internal structures and office locations.
SCHEDULE 3 — Operational standards
PART 1 — THE STANDARDS
Standards relating to the use of the Welsh language within a body’s internal administration
and you must also inform each member of staff of that right.
PART 2 — STANDARDS THAT ARE RELIANT ON OTHER STANDARDS – SPECIAL CONDITIONS
When a compliance notice requires a body to comply with one of the standards listed on a specific row in column 1 of Table 1, that compliance notice must also require that body to comply (in whatever way the Welsh Language Commissioner considers appropriate) with the standard or standards listed in column 2 of that row.
| Column 1 | Column 2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Row | Main standard | Reliant standard |
| Complaints procedures | ||
| (1) | Standard 106 | Standard 106A |
| Complaints procedures | ||
| (2) | Standard 106A | Standard 106 |
| Disciplining staff | ||
| (3) | Standard 110 | Standard 110A |
| Disciplining staff | ||
| (4) | Standard 110A | Standard 110 |
| Intranet | ||
| (5) | Standards 115, 116 or 117 | Standard 118 |
| Raising awareness of Welsh language badge | ||
| (6) | Standard 130 | Standard 130A |
| Raising awareness of Welsh language badge | ||
| (7) | Standard 130A | Standard 130 |
| Recruitment and appointments | ||
| (8) | Standard 131 | Standard 131A |
| Recruitment | ||
| (9) | Standard 132 | Standard 132A Standard 132B Standard 135 |
| Internal signs | Standard 138 | |
| (10) | Standard 136 |
PART 3 — INTERPRETING THE STANDARDS
The standards specified in Part 1 of this Schedule must be interpreted as follows.
but it does not mean that the Welsh language material must appear on the same page as the English language material, or on a page that is likely to open before the corresponding English language version of a page.
SCHEDULE 4 — Record Keeping Standards
PART 1 — THE STANDARDS
Standard 140:
PART 2 — INTERPRETING THE STANDARDS
The standards specified in Part 1 of this Schedule must be interpreted as follows.
SCHEDULE 5 — Standards which deal with Supplementary Matters
PART 1 — SERVICE DELIVERY STANDARDS
A body publicising service delivery standards
PART 2 — POLICY MAKING STANDARDS
A body publicising policy making standards
PART 3 — OPERATIONAL STANDARDS
A body publicising operational standards
PART 4 — RECORD KEEPING STANDARDS
A body publicising record keeping standards
PART 5 — INTERPRETING THE STANDARDS
The standards specified in Parts 1 to 4 must be interpreted as follows.
PART 6 — SUPPLEMENTARY PROVISION
Complaints procedures
SCHEDULE 6
Adjudication Panel for Wales (“Panel Dyfarnu Cymru”)
Agricultural Land Tribunal (Wales) (“Tribiwnlys Tir Amaethyddol Cymru”)
Education Workforce Council (“Cyngor y Gweithlu Addysg”)
Social Care Wales (“Gofal Cymdeithasol Cymru”)
The Mental Health Review Tribunal for Wales (“TribiwnlysAdolygiad Iechyd Meddwl Cymru”)
The Residential Property Tribunal Wales (“Tribiwnlys Eiddo Preswyl Cymru”)
Signed
Carwyn Jones — First Minister of Wales — 15 March 2016
Explanatory note
(This note is not part of the Regulations)
EXPLANATORY NOTE
The Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011 (nawm 1) (“the 2011 Measure”) makes provision for the specification of standards of conduct in relation to the Welsh language (“standards”). These replace the system of Welsh language schemes provided for by the Welsh Language Act 1993 (c. 38).
Section 26 of the 2011 Measure enables the Welsh Ministers to specify standards, and section 39 enables them to provide that a standard is specifically applicable to a person by authorising the Welsh Language Commissioner (“the Commissioner”) to give a notice to that person requiring compliance with the standard (a “compliance notice”).
These Regulations specify standards in relation to the conduct of the bodies listed in Schedule 6 to the Regulations. The listed bodies are:
- Agricultural Land Tribunal
- Education Workforce Council
- the Mental Health Review Tribunal for Wales
- the Residential Property Tribunal Wales
- the Special Educational Needs Tribunal for Wales
- Valuation Tribunal for Wales.
Amongst other things, these bodies may make decisions in respect of legal proceedings brought before them. The Welsh Language Act 1993 makes provision about speaking Welsh in legal proceedings.
The Regulations also authorise (subject to certain exceptions set out in regulation 3(2)) the Commissioner to give a compliance notice to those bodies, in relation to standards specified by the Regulations.
In accordance with section 44 of the 2011 Measure, the Commissioner may (by way of a compliance notice) require a body to comply with one or more standards that are specifically applicable to it. To reflect that, the standards specified by the Regulations are expressed in the second person narrative, meaning that they are in “you must” form (where “you” means the relevant body in each case).
Using the flexibility provided by section 44 of the 2011 Measure the Commissioner may (if it is reasonable and proportionate, and the Commissioner wishes to do so) require a body to comply with one standard in some circumstances and another standard in other circumstances. For example, if a standard is specifically applicable to a body the Commissioner may require the body to comply with the standard in some circumstances but not others, or require it to comply with the standard only in some areas. Similarly if two or more standards relate to a specific conduct (for example, standards 8 to 11 in relation to answering telephone calls), the Commissioner may (by way of a compliance notice) require a body to comply with one of those standards only, or with different standards at different times, in different circumstances, or in different areas; as is appropriate for the body. The Commissioner is not, therefore, obliged to require every body to comply with every standard.
In accordance with section 46 of the 2011 Measure, the compliance notice given to a body must state the imposition day, or imposition days; meaning the day or days upon which the body becomes required to comply with a standard (or comply with a standard in a specific way). Using the flexibility provided for by section 46, the Commissioner may set an early imposition day for a body to comply with a standard (provided this is at least 6 months after the date on which the body was given the related compliance notice), or set an imposition day further in the future (for example in relation to more challenging standards).
Where a standard specified in these Regulations requires written material to be displayed or provided in Welsh, or for a service to be provided in Welsh, this does not mean that the material must be displayed or provided in Welsh only, or that the service must only be provided in Welsh (unless that is specifically stated).
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