Strategic Plan 2022 - 2025

Respecting everyone we work with is at the heart of everything we do.

Being open and trusting one another is fundamental to our workplace culture.

We deal with all aspects of our work fairly, honestly, and consistently.

Working with others in an appropriate and progressive way is important to us.

Priorities 2022-25

• Engage with the public, listen to their views, and consider them in a fair and balanced way. Act on behalf of people, whether they are workers or members of the public, if they are facing barriers to using the Welsh language. Take every opportunity to reach out to a wider audience.
• Raise awareness of the legal rights of Welsh language users and take every opportunity to reach out to a wider audience.
• Implement an effective complaints procedure that prevents the continuation or repetition of failures.
• Teach and share information on the significant outcomes of case work with all kinds of target audiences.
• Undertake responsive pieces of work that endeavour to discover whether some groups of Welsh language users find it more difficult to exercise their rights because of their circumstances and make recommendations to support them.
• Impose standards on bodies in a timely manner once standards have been introduced by the Senedd. Within the lifetime of this plan and in accordance with the Co-operation Agreement between the Welsh Government and Plaid Cymru, it is expected that this will be done with regard to the following organisations: public transport, health sector regulators, public bodies that are not currently subject to the standards regime and water companies.

Priorities 2022-25

• Plan the 5-year report on the position of the Welsh language (2021-25), including an analysis of the results of the 2021 Census and an assessment of their implications, to be published in 2026.
• Develop an understanding of the work of language commissioners and other agencies across the world and provide a platform for successful practices in Wales.
• Scrutinise legislation that affects the Welsh language, including
  • Agricultural Bill
  • Tertiary Education Bill
  • Welsh-medium Education Bill
• Influence policies that affect the Welsh language, giving particular attention to:
  • Education
  • Health and care
  • Housing and planning
• Collaborate and share information with relevant partners in order to influence policy and legislation and contribute constructively to discussions on areas that affect the Welsh language.
• Investigate and report on the position of the Welsh language and Welsh speakers in policy areas in order to build an evidence base for the Commissioner's views.

Priorities 2022-25

• Implementation of a genuinely proactive regulatory strategy.
• Take appropriate regulatory steps to transform organisations' performance in those key areas that continue to be problematic:
  • Skills and recruitment
  • Policy making standards.
• Organisations to do more to promote the opportunities offered to use the Welsh language in two specific areas:
  • Policies on internal use
  • Use of services
• Ensure that organisations collaborate and innovate in order to respond positively to the requirements imposed on them by the Commissioner's advice, and effective.
• Transform the performance and ability of the National Health Service's Heath Boards and Trusts to offer clinical consultations in Welsh, by improving compliance with requirements imposed on bodies by standards 110 and 110A.

Priorities 2022-25

• Facilitate the use of the Welsh language with businesses and charities by providing training and guidance and sharing good practice.
• Greater commitment by businesses and charities to use the Welsh language. Specifically target the following sectors:
  • Supermarkets
  • Health and care providers
  • National charities
  • Banks
• Collaborate with funding bodies and networks to encourage more businesses and charities to use the Welsh language.
• Provide advice on the standardised forms of Welsh Place-names and publicise them by launching a new version of the List of Standardised Welsh Place-names in 2024. Develop our ability to provide advice on topographical names and publish standardisation guidelines to support the work.

Our people are our most important resource, and the contribution of a knowledgeable, motivated workforce is essential in order to achieve our objectives. The Commissioner is committed to creating an organisational culture that promotes development and nurtures talent and potential in an environment where respect, trust, support, and a sense of close community is central to what we do.

To do this, we will prioritise the following:

• Strong governance by ensuring that our policies, procedures, and systems incorporate good practice, fairness and compliance with our statutory requirements.
• The creation of a supportive culture based on trust and respect, by offering a range of interventions to create a working environment that supports good health and well-being amongst our officers.
• Driving improvement by developing performance based on two-way, open discussions throughout the year, and ensuring that everyone is given the opportunity to develop and thrive in their roles.

Effective communication will be required to achieve our strategic objectives. We need to ensure that we share relevant messages to reach and engage with different audiences and stakeholders across Wales and beyond.

We will focus on the following priorities:

• Developing a new Communication Strategy – to identify the organisation's main messages and explain how we will tailor and share them extensively across different platforms to reach a wide range of audiences. We will review our current communication methods and consider how we can increase their impact and reach new audiences.
• Developing a strong, visual brand – We will continue to develop our brand to ensure that it reflects our values and vision as an organisation.
• We will continue to develop the website so that it includes clear, accurate and current information. We will develop new ways of ensuring that relevant information is provided to those visiting the website in a quick and effective manner.
• Running national campaigns to promote the use of the Welsh language – We will run various campaigns as a way of sharing key messages and engaging with our partners, stakeholders, and audiences.

We will implement appropriate governance arrangements to ensure that we comply with legal requirements and duties such as equality and diversity, data protection, environmental requirements, and freedom of information.

As well as an Advisory Panel appointed by Welsh Ministers, we have an Audit and Risk Committee and we have appointed internal auditors to provide an independent overview of the way in which the organisation is run. As a public appointment, the Commissioner is committed to the highest standard of internal administration. An officer has been appointed Risk Manager and the Commissioner promotes a culture of appropriate responsibility and accountability throughout the organisation.

We will:

• Measure our compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) through internal monitoring and reviews, and through any complaints that are upheld by the Information Commissioner.
• Maintain and review our risk register regularly.
• Conduct quarterly meetings of the Advisory Panel and the Audit and Risk Committee to offer constructive challenge and to advise the Commissioner.
• Report on our performance to the Senedd's Culture and Welsh Language Committee on an annual basis.

The Commissioner has a Strategic Equality Plan, and we will continue to implement the plan as part of our internal arrangements. Although the Commissioner is not subject to the full duties of the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015, the aim is to incorporate the principle of sustainable development in the way in which we run the organisation, and to contribute to the seven Well-being Aims.

We will ensure that we make the best use of our resources through strong financial control and regular reporting and monitoring processes. We will ensure that our annual accounts comply with the Treasury's requirements, accounting standards and any instruction from the Welsh Government. We will ensure appropriate financial planning and accountability by preparing a detailed annual budget and we will ensure that our financial requirements are clear to the Welsh Government by preparing an estimate of the Commissioner's income and expenditure for the next financial year.

We will ensure that our information technology and estates infrastructure is current and fit for purpose. We will have robust arrangements in place for protecting the organisation from cyber threats and we will work towards achieving cyber protection accreditation during the first year of the strategic plan. We will continue to test our systems, work with stakeholders, and share good practice.