Agenda item

            The Members of the Committee considered the following report:

“1.0     Purpose of Report/Summary of Main Issues

1.1            The purpose of this report is to provide the Committee with an update on the Language Strategy.

2.0       Recommendation

2.1       The Members of the Committee are asked to recommend that, in accordance with the Council decision of 4th May, the Chief Executive exercise her delegated authority to note the report.

3.0       Main Report

Background

3.1       The Council agreed a strategic approach to progress the Language Strategy in May 2021 including approving the establishment of:

·          a cross-party, bi-annual / quarterly Member Language Strategy Working Group;

·          a new external Irish Language Forum and a new external Ulster-Scots Forum to add to the existing Council stakeholder fora for the other language communities; and

·          an internal Language Strategy officer working group.

Key Issues

Progress update on Language Strategy

3.2       A report agreeing the next steps for the Language Strategy was brought to the Equality and Diversity Network – Strategic, which is chaired by the City Solicitor, in June where it was agreed that the Governance and Compliance Manager would carry out Departmental Management Team briefings so senior officers are aware of the implications of the Language Strategy. These are currently underway.

3.3       The internal Language Strategy officer working group has been established and comprises officers from Marketing and Communications; Customer Focus; Good Relations; Tourism, Culture, Heritage and Arts; Building Control; Corporate HR; City and Neighbourhood Services; Physical Programmes as well as the Language Officers. The key outcome from this officer working group is to develop draft action plans for each of the five language strands which we will bring to the first meeting of the Elected Member Working Group.

3.4       Nominations for the Elected Member Working Group will be sought in August, with the first and second meetings planned for September and October. It is planned to use these first two meetings to invite key stakeholders from the five language strands to brief the Working Group and for Elected Members to review and agree the draft action plans.

3.5       It is planned to establish and hold the new stakeholder fora for Irish and Ulster Scots in October / November.

3.6       In addition, English and Irish versions of the Council’s logo have been provided to Glór na nGael to use for the Irish Language in Business Awards later this year and also Cairde Ard Eoin, a community group in Ardoyne, for local history storyboards as part of an environmental improvement scheme from the DfC Covid-19 Revitalisation Programme Business Cluster and Community Grant Scheme. This is in line with the decision made by the Joint Group of the Party Leaders’ Forum and Historic Centenaries Working Group from October 2013 which was agreed through SP and R to design a logo in Irish for use by individual Members and organisations. It is suggested that a process is developed so that these requests are approved and logged by the Irish Language Officer.

3.7       The Irish Language Officer is also working with Foras na Gaelige on the Council hosting an online event as part of the Foras na Gaelige and Scotland’s Bòrd na Gàidhlig’s joint Comicille1500 celebrations. 

            Progress update on the revised Dual

Language Street Sign Policy

3.8       Following the ratification of the revised Dual Language Street Sign Policy in May 2021, an officer working group has been established and procedures have been developed for implementation of the revised policy.  An external equality specialist has been engaged to carry out the EQIA and this work is currently underway.  The revised procedures and other steps necessary to establish the policy will be brought through the Elected Member Working Group in the coming months.

            Financial and Resource Implications

3.9       There are no financial implications as a result of this report. 

            Equality or Good Relations Implications/

Rural Needs Assessment

3.10     The promotion of equality of opportunity and good relations are key principles within which the Language Strategy is delivered. The Language Strategy was subject to the Council’s usual screening process.”

            The Members of the Committee agreed to recommend that, in accordance with the Council decision of 4th May, the Chief Executive exercise her delegated authority to note the report.