Senior councillors hail Welsh language progress

Nicholas Thomas, local democracy reporter

Cabinet members have welcomed news of progress in meeting national standards on promoting the Welsh language.

Caerphilly County Borough Council has more than 100 extra Welsh-speaking employees on its payroll compared with last year, according to a new report.

Eluned Stenner, the cabinet member for performance, told colleagues at a meeting on Wednesday June 5 that the council had worked with Careers Wales to encourage teenagers to develop their Welsh skills and improve their job opportunities.

Welsh learners

The number of council staff who speak Welsh has risen from 2,100 to 2,258 since last year, and there are 96 employees currently learning the language.

The council’s own translation team has grown in size and increased its output, said Cllr Stenner. The team translated 2.1 million words into Welsh this year – an increase of more than 700,000 from last year.

And 2023 was the fifth year in a row that Caerphilly Council has avoided any Welsh Language Commissioner investigations for “non-compliance”.