Gwent council still struggling to deliver services in Welsh

Twm Owen – Local democracy reporter

A Gwent council is still struggling to provide residents with services through Welsh, it has admitted.

Alan Vernon-Jones said there has been progress in recruiting staff with Welsh language skills and Torfaen Borough Council is meeting its legal requirement, under the Welsh language measure, of providing services in a “reasonable and proportionate manner”.

But Welsh language officer Mr Vernon-Jones said: “Providing face to face services continues to be a difficult area for Welsh speakers to communicate with the council but we’ve made significant efforts to recruit candidates with Welsh language skills and also offer the opportunity to learn.”

The council previously agreed to only advertise vacancies as either “Welsh desirable or Welsh essential”, which Mr Vernon-Jones said was to encourage applicants to use the Welsh they may have learned in school, or classes, to apply.

During 2025/26 the council advertised 780 new or vacant posts with 21 adverts stating Welsh was essential and 759 with the language as desirable which was 97.31 per cent of all posts advertised.

“This has not discouraged candidates with no Welsh language skills and has meant that the council can comply with the standards in a more holistic way,” said Mr Vernon-Jones.

He added the council’s “next step” is to assess what Welsh language skills successful applicants have brought to the authority.

It encourages staff to record their Welsh language skills on a council training database, with 29 per cent of the workforce having done so showing 54 staff “who are proficient in the Welsh language.”

When measured from entry level to fully proficient the council has 412 staff able to speak some Welsh.

Seven staff also completed courses in learning Welsh last year, with the council having a legal obligation to provide training, while it has also developed training on considering Welsh as part of integrated equalities impact assessments.

The report also detailed only two complaints about the council’s compliance with Welsh language standards were received during 2025/26, which included one from the Welsh Language Commissioner.

Both complaints related to Torfaen’s street name policy which is to only have one official name for streets and Mr Vernon-Jones said the commissioner’s complaint hadn’t progresses as there was no failure to comply with the Welsh language standard.

He also said the council has had “huge success” in encouraging developers to adopt Welsh names for new streets “restoring the balance of English and Welsh street names throughout the borough.”

The Welsh language officer also described AI as a “useful tool” for translation, with the council translating around 2.5 million words but cautioned “AI translations need to be checked by a competent Welsh speaker.”

Peter Jones, the Labour council cabinet member responsible for the Welsh language, said there are “many activities throughout the year” to promote Welsh language services.

He added its federation agreement to work closer together with Blaenau Gwent Borough Council will also offer opportunities to increase use and promotion of Welsh across both councils.

The Welsh Language Standards report was approved by the council and will have to be published on the authority’s website by the end of June.