§ Mr. LlwydTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) how many(a) officers and (b) members of staff employed by the joint Gwynedd/Clwyd valuation tribunals office speak Welsh; and if he will make a statement;
(2) what action he proposes to take to ensure that appellants in Gwynedd are able to correspond with the officers of the joint Gwynedd/Clwyd valuation tribunal office and to have their cases heard through the medium of the Welsh language; and if he will make a statement;
(3) how many (a) officers and (b) members of staff employed by the joint Gwynedd/Clwyd valuation tribunal office have a sufficient knowledge of the Welsh language to correspond through the medium of the language; and if he will make a statement.
§ Sir Wyn RobertsIn appointing staff to the new joint office, the Gwynedd and Clwyd valuation tribunals were required to take account of the Secretary of State's policy that a fully bilingual service should be provided. Questions about the staff appointments are matters for the tribunals themselves as the employers. The tribunals are being provided with the necessary resources to pay for the Welsh language training of staff; and to deal with any specific issues concerning Welsh language correspondence and enquiries. The tribunals hear cases in Welsh as appropriate and will continue to do so.