Written question WQ91807

I recognise the importance of the Welsh language in the care and support of Welsh speakers. Our More than just words plan 2022-27 demonstrates our commitment to strengthening the use of the Welsh language in health and social care services. The first annual report for the More than just words plan was published in December 2023. The report shows many excellent initiatives underway to strengthen Welsh language services in the social care sector.

The Welsh language skills of the workforce are critical to effectively engaging with Welsh speakers and to ensure the success of the More than just words workplan. Some recent developments in this sphere include:

• Introduction of a new elearning Welsh language course

• Developing a training resource to support bilingual working.

• Social care workers in Wales have access to a free online toolto assess their Welsh language skills.

• A sector specific learning pathway for online self-directed learning has been developed and a specific Welsh language learners course ‘Cwrs Camau’ has been developed for the care sector.

• The Workforce Strategy Delivery Plan due to be published shortly identifies actions we should take to support our ambition and build on the work already completed to supporting a bilingual workforce, such as our WeCare Wales campaign that focused on the Welsh language at work, workforce data to better understand the skills that already exist within the workforce, along with the range of resources available to support using Welsh at work.

Our commitment to upholding the rights of Welsh speakers to receive care and support services through the medium of Welsh is clearly set out in the Social Services and Well-Being (Wales) Act 2014 and the suite of Codes made under the Act. This Spring we will be further strengthening these rights through the introduction of a new National Framework for the Commissioning of Care And Support. The Framework, established in a new Code of Practice under the Act, will require local authorities, health boards and NHS Trusts to treat the Welsh Language no less favourably than the English and to take all reasonable steps to provide local/community based Welsh Language care and support services. This builds on the existing provisions in the Part 2 Code of Practice: General Functions that brings to life the overarching duty in the Act to have regard to the characteristics, culture and beliefs of an individual including language. By setting these rights out clearly in the specific context of the commissioning of care and support we aim to ensure that Welsh language provision can meet the needs of current and future generations.