Written question WQ88901

The Welsh Language Commissioner wrote to me on 26 October 2022 seeking information relating to a court case in Caernarfon County Court between an individual and a private parking company. The Commissioner also asked me to consider a recommendation that the Welsh Ministers should use powers under the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 to prescribe the wording used on signs and notices in car parks on private land; the form and content of evidence used in conjunction with notices of parking charges sent by owners of car parks on private land; and the wording of notices of parking charges, so as to ensure that they are bilingual.

On 28 November 2022 I issued the following response to the Commissioner:

Thank you for your letter of 26 October 2022 regarding the use of Welsh by private car parks, and the case before Caernarfon County Court.

To answer your question in the second page of your letter, I can confirm that the Welsh Ministers have not made regulations under Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012. I note that the court hearing has now been delayed until 4 January 2023, so I hope that receiving confirmation of that is helpful to you.

I also note that you have concluded that the Welsh Ministers have the power under Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 to create secondary legislation that would specify the form and content of signs in private car parks, the form or content of the evidence to accompany notices, as well as the content of the notices themselves. You recommend that Ministers use those powers (together with the power in section 26 of the Welsh Language Act 1993 if necessary) to order that they must be bilingual.

We will consider your recommendation and discuss the conclusion with you in due course.

After considering the Commissioner’s recommendation, I issued further correspondence on 5 May 2023:

The Deputy Commissioner wrote to me on 26 October 2022 regarding the use of Welsh by companies operating private car parks. The letter asked me to consider a recommendation that the Welsh Ministers use powers under Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 to order that signs in private car parks, as well as notices and evidence to accompany notices, must be bilingual. I have now considered that recommendation.

I have decided not to proceed with using powers under the Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 to prepare duties in relation to private car parks. That is due to policy reasons, but also because of the impact doing so would have on the Government's legislative programme.

In order to legislate effectively in this area I have concluded that Ministers would need to determine the exact wording to be used in English and Welsh on signs, notices, and related documents. Because the documents in question have legal implications on the public to pay fines, legislating to place a general duty on companies operating private car parks to display bilingual signs and issue bilingual documents would carry a risk of legal challenges over which form of words (Welsh or English) is correct.