Written question WQ100171
- Asked by
- Elwyn VaughanPlaid
- To be answered by
- Cabinet Minister for Health and Care
- Tabled
- Due
- Answered
- Time to answer
- 6 days
Question
What steps is the Welsh Government taking to ensure that Powys Education Health Board is operating in line with the Welsh Language Standards and the More Than Just Words Scheme whilst it considers changes to service provision, specifically with regard to the relocation of services from Welsh-speaking communities to English-speaking communities?
Answer
Answered by Cabinet Minister for Health and Care (Mabon ap Gwynfor)
It is the responsibility of Powys Teaching Health Board to ensure compliance with its statutory Welsh language duties and ensure it is operating in accordance with the principles of More than just words. Health bodies are under a duty to comply with policy‑making standards which require that they consider the effects of their policy decisions on the Welsh language. This extends to policy decisions relating the planning and commissioning of services.
Responsibility for regulating and enforcing compliance with the Welsh Language Standards rests with the Welsh Language Commissioner.
Welsh Government holds NHS organisations to account for the delivery of Welsh language priorities through existing NHS governance and accountability frameworks.