Bi Lingual Policy

Mr Barnacle Eich Cyf/Your Ref
Ein Cyf/Our Ref R001400
Dyddiad/Date 16/01/2009
Gofynner am/Ask for Gwen Smith
Rhif Union/Direct Dial 01352 702429

Dear Mr Barnacle

Thank you for your request for information which is acknowledged.

Your request has been forwarded to the Freedom of Information Act Contact
Officer for the Corporate Strategy Directorate, Craig Berry, to process
and this Officer will be in contact with you.

Yours sincerely

Gwen Smith

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Opinions advice, conclusions and other information in this

message that do not relate to the official business of

Flintshire County Council shall be understood as neither

given nor endorsed by it or on its behalf, and consequently

Flintshire County Council shall bear no responsibility

whatsoever in respect thereof.

Deellir na fydd unrhyw safbwyntiau, na chynghorion, na

chasgliadau nac unrhyw wybodaeth arall yn y neges hon,

nad ydynt yn berthnasol i waith swyddogol

Cyngor Sir y Fflint, yn cael eu cynnig na'u cadarnhau ganddo

nac ar ei ran, ac felly ni fydd Cyngor Sir y Fflint yn derbyn

unrhyw gyfrifoldeb am y rhannau hynny o'r neges.

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I will be out of the office starting 15/01/2009 and will not return until
20/01/2009.

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Opinions advice, conclusions and other information in this
message that do not relate to the official business of
Flintshire County Council shall be understood as neither
given nor endorsed by it or on its behalf, and consequently
Flintshire County Council shall bear no responsibility
whatsoever in respect thereof.
Deellir na fydd unrhyw safbwyntiau, na chynghorion, na
chasgliadau nac unrhyw wybodaeth arall yn y neges hon,
nad ydynt yn berthnasol i waith swyddogol
Cyngor Sir y Fflint, yn cael eu cynnig na'u cadarnhau ganddo
nac ar ei ran, ac felly ni fydd Cyngor Sir y Fflint yn derbyn
unrhyw gyfrifoldeb am y rhannau hynny o'r neges.
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RE: Bilingual Policy Costs

I am writing regarding your request for the above information, which was
received on the 16th January under the Freedom of Information Act.

I am writing to confirm that Flintshire County Council has now completed
its search for the information you requested. Please see our response
below:

1. Does your organisation have a bilingual policy in place?

Yes

2. What percent of staff are able to speak Welsh?

We are unable to provide a definitive figure for this at present.
We are currently in the process of conducting a staff survey to
ascertain their Welsh language skills.

3. What percentage of staff speak and write fluent Welsh?

We are unable to provide a definitive figure for this at present.
We are currently in the process of conducting a staff survey to
ascertain their Welsh language skills.

4. Do you have a unit specifically for translation

Yes

5. How many staff work in your translation unit.

There are presently 1.5 x full time equivalents

6. What is the approximate overall cost of having a bilingual
policy in place (this should take into account the cost of the running of
the translation unit, extra stationery, extra postage and
the time taken to get documents translated). Furthermore could this
please be broken down by year since the last Local Government
reorganisation

The Welsh Language Scheme came into being in May 1998 (two years
after Local Government reorganisation) The Translation Unit was
set up in 1999. Therefore, we are only able to provide figures from these
dates. The following figures are for identifiable
costs and include such things as; pay, training, translation etc

1998/99 *38,851.91
1999/00 *90,250.32
2000/01 *90,964.12
2001/02 *82,267.47
2002/03 *118,540.12
2003/04 *147,290.42
2004/05 *162,137.94
2005/06 *161,040.67
2006/07 *142,836.57
2007/08 *163,691.31

I hope I have responded to your enquiry to your satisfaction. If you
believe I have not dealt with your request properly the enclosed
complaints procedure provides a way for your request to be reconsidered by
a Senior Officer not previously involved in processing your request.

Craig Berry
FoI Contact Officer - Corporate Services
Flintshire County Council/Sir y Fflint

Re-use of information statement for all FOI correspondence
The contents of this communication and the enclosed documents are subject
to copyright protection. It has been sent to you for your information and
you may use it for any non-commercial research you may be doing. Its
contents can also be used for the purposes of news reporting. Any other
re-use, for example commercial publication or publication on a website,
requires the permission of this Council. If you wish to re-use this
information please contact us, letting us know how you wish to re-use it
and what the intended audience will be so that we can consider your
request. This information should be sent to: The Records Manager,
Flintshire County Council, County Hall, Mold, Flintshire CH7 6NB, or
[email address]

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Opinions advice, conclusions and other information in this

message that do not relate to the official business of

Flintshire County Council shall be understood as neither

given nor endorsed by it or on its behalf, and consequently

Flintshire County Council shall bear no responsibility

whatsoever in respect thereof.

Deellir na fydd unrhyw safbwyntiau, na chynghorion, na

chasgliadau nac unrhyw wybodaeth arall yn y neges hon,

nad ydynt yn berthnasol i waith swyddogol

Cyngor Sir y Fflint, yn cael eu cynnig na'u cadarnhau ganddo

nac ar ei ran, ac felly ni fydd Cyngor Sir y Fflint yn derbyn

unrhyw gyfrifoldeb am y rhannau hynny o'r neges.

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