HC Deb 30 November 1987 vol 123 cc455-6W
Dr. Thomas

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) what guidance has been given to officials within his Department regarding correspondence addressed to them by individuals and bodies in Wales in the Welsh language;

(2) what is his policy towards answering in the Welsh language letters written by individuals and bodies in Wales in the Welsh language to offices of his Department situated outside Wales.

Mr. Portillo

Local office staff in Wales will reply in Welsh to letters received in that language. Some social security benefits are administered centrally outside Wales. Correspondence from Wales in the Welsh language to any of these central locations would normally receive an answer in Welsh.

Dr. Thomas

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services what facilities the various divisions within his Department have for dealing with correspondence addressed to them by individuals and bodies in Wales in the Welsh language.

Mr. Portillo

There are Welsh-speaking staff in most social security offices in Wales and in predominantly Welsh-speaking areas the proportion is higher.

If a letter cannot be processed locally, the Welsh Office provides a translation service for all offices of the Department. In addition, the Department retains an agency to provide translations to and from English for all the major languages, including Welsh.