LegalizeThe Welsh Language Standards (No. 2) Regulations 2016
Made: 9 February 2016
Coming into force: 16 February 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. 2) Regulations 2016.
- (2) These Regulations come into force on 16 February 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 Her Majesty (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.
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 authorize [^f00002] 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.
- (2) But the Commissioner is not authorised to give a compliance notice to—
- (a) the Auditor General for Wales requiring him or her to comply with the following standards—
- (i) 94 to 140,
- (ii) 145 to 148,
- (iii) 161 to 166;
- (b) the Student Loans Company Limited requiring it to comply with the following standards—
- (i) 1 to 93,
- (ii) 144,
- (iii) 149 to 160.
SCHEDULE 1
PART 1 — THE STANDARDS
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
| 22 | 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). |
|---|---|
| Row | Column 1 Main standard |
| --- | --- |
| (1) | Replying to correspondence |
| (1) | Standard 1 |
| (2) | Corresponding with members of the same household |
| (2) | Standard 3 |
| (3) | Corresponding with several persons |
| (3) | Standard 4 |
| (4) | General standards relating to correspondence |
| (4) | Standard 5 |
| (5) | Raising awareness about corresponding in Welsh |
| (5) | Standard 7 |
| (6) | Receiving telephone calls |
| (6) | Standard 9 |
| (7) | Receiving telephone calls |
| (7) | Standard 10 or 11 |
| (8) | Raising awareness about telephone services in Welsh |
| (8) | Standard 14 |
| (9) | Meetings with one person |
| (9) | Standard 24 |
| (10) | Meetings with one person |
| (10) | Standard 24A or 24B |
| (11) | Meetings with more than one person |
| (11) | Standard 25 |
| (12) | Meetings with more than one person |
| (12) | Standard 25A, 25B, 25C, 25CH or 25D |
| (13) | Public meetings |
| (13) | Standard 26 |
| (14) | Public meetings |
| (14) | Standard 29 |
| (15) | Documents |
| (15) | Standard 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, or 43 |
| (16) | Forms |
| (16) | Standard 46 |
| (17) | Websites |
| (17) | Standard 48, 49 or 50 |
| (18) | Signs |
| (18) | Standard 57 or 58 |
| (19) | Reception |
| (19) | Standard 60 |
| (20) | Reception |
| (20) | Standard 61 |
| (21) | Reception |
| (21) | Standard 62 |
| (22) | Raising awareness of Welsh-language services in a reception |
| (22) | Standard 63 |
| (23) | Grants |
| (23) | Standard 68 |
| (24) | Grants |
| (24) | Standard 69 or 70 |
| (25) | Contracts |
| (25) | Standard 73 |
| (26) | Contracts |
| (26) | Standard 74 or 75 |
PART 3 — INTERPRETING THE STANDARDS
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
| 1 | Standards relating to considering the effects of a body’s policy decisions on the Welsh language |
|---|---|
| Standard 84: | When you formulate a new policy, or review or revise an existing policy, you must consider what effects, if any (whether positive or adverse), the policy decision would have on — opportunities for persons to use the Welsh language, and treating the Welsh language no less favourably than the English language. |
| Standard 85: | When you formulate a new policy, or review or revise an existing policy, you must consider how the policy could be formulated (or how an existing policy could be changed) so that the policy decision would have positive effects, or increased positive effects, on — opportunities for persons to use the Welsh language, and treating the Welsh language no less favourably than the English language. |
| Standard 86: | When you formulate a new policy, or review or revise an existing policy, you must consider how the policy could be formulated (or how an existing policy could be changed) so that the policy decision would not have adverse effects, or so that it would have decreased adverse effects, on — opportunities for persons to use the Welsh language, and treating the Welsh language no less favourably than the English language. |
| Standard 87: | When you publish a consultation document which relates to a policy decision, the document must consider, and seek views on, the effects (whether positive or adverse) that the policy decision under consideration would have on— opportunities for persons to use the Welsh language, and treating the Welsh language no less favourably than the English language. |
| Standard 88: | When you publish a consultation document which relates to a policy decision the document must consider, and seek views on, how the policy under consideration could be formulated or revised so that it would have positive effects, or increased positive effects, on — opportunities for persons to use the Welsh language, and treating the Welsh language no less favourably than the English language. |
| Standard 89: | When you publish a consultation document which relates to a policy decision the document must consider, and seek views on, how the policy under consideration could be formulated or revised so that it would not have adverse effects, or so that it would have decreased adverse effects, on — opportunities for persons to use the Welsh language, and treating the Welsh language no less favourably than the English language. |
| Standard 90: | You must produce and publish a policy on awarding grants (or, where appropriate, amend an existing policy) which requires you to take the following matters into account when you make decisions in relation to the awarding of a grant— what effects, if any (and whether positive or negative), the awarding of a grant would have on— opportunities for persons to use the Welsh language, and treating the Welsh language no less favourably than the English language; how the decision could be taken or implemented (for example, by imposing conditions of grant) so that it would have positive effects, or increased positive effects, on— opportunities for persons to use the Welsh language, and treating the Welsh language no less favourably than the English language; how the decision could be taken or implemented (for example, by imposing conditions of grant) so that it would not have adverse effects, or so that it would have decreased adverse effects on— opportunities for persons to use the Welsh language, and treating the Welsh language no less favourably than the English language; whether you need to ask the applicant for any additional information in order to assist you in assessing the effects of awarding a grant on— opportunities for persons to use the Welsh language, and treating the Welsh language no less favourably than the English language. |
| Standard 91: | When you commission or undertake research that is intended to assist you to make a policy decision, you must ensure that the research considers what effects, if any (and whether positive or adverse), the policy decision under consideration would have on — opportunities for persons to use the Welsh language, and treating the Welsh language no less favourably than the English language. |
| Standard 92: | When you commission or undertake research that is intended to assist you to make a policy decision, you must ensure that the research considers how the policy decision under consideration could be made so that it would have a positive effects, or so that it would have increased positive effects, on — opportunities for persons to use the Welsh language, and treating the Welsh language no less favourably than the English language. |
| Standard 93: | When you commission or undertake research that is intended to assist you to make a policy decision, you must ensure that the research considers how the policy decision under consideration could be made so that it would not have adverse effects, or so that it would have decreased adverse effects, on — opportunities for persons to use the Welsh language, and treating the Welsh language no less favourably than the English language. |
PART 2 — INTERPRETING THE STANDARDS
| 2 | 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 — the content of legislation; the exercise of statutory powers; the content of policy statements; strategies or strategic plans; internal structures and office locations; the recruitment or use of volunteers. |
|---|---|
| 3 | In Part 1 of this Schedule a reference to positive or adverse effects is a reference to such effects whether direct or indirect. |
SCHEDULE 3 — Operational standards
PART 1 — THE STANDARDS
and you must also inform each member of staff of that right.
PART 2 — STANDARDS THAT ARE RELIANT ON OTHER STANDARDS – SPECIAL CONDITIONS
| 9 | 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. |
|---|---|
| Row | Column 1 Main standard |
| --- | --- |
| (1) | Complaints procedures |
| (1) | Standard 108 |
| (2) | Complaints procedures |
| (2) | Standard 108A |
| (3) | Disciplining staff |
| (3) | Standard 112 |
| (4) | Disciplining staff |
| (4) | Standard 112A |
| (5) | Intranet |
| (5) | Standards 117, 118 or 119 |
| (6) | Recruitment and appointments |
| (6) | Standard 132 |
| (7) | Recruitment |
| (7) | Standard 133 |
| (8) | Internal signs |
| (8) | Standard 137 |
PART 3 — INTERPRETING THE STANDARDS
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
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