Cynllun Iaith Gymraeg - Rhondda Cynon Taf

3.4 Public MeetingsPublic meetings take many forms, such as hearings, inquiries,other legal proceedings and conferences. Those attending suchpublic meetings arranged by the Council will be able to usethe language of their choice. The Council will require priornotice of language preference from those proposing to attend,in order to provide appropriate translation facilities. Notices ofpublic meetings will be bilingual.A translation service will be provided, when the Councilreceives requests from individuals or representatives fromorganisations who wish to discuss matters in the Welshlanguage. Their wish to address Committee / Public meetings /Conferences in Welsh will be established in advance by:• Officers clearly stating on all printed material i.e.promotional posters, leaflets, in all paid advertising, andpublic notices that language choice is available with advancenotice so that the appropriate arrangements can be madefor translation facilities. It is then up to individual membersof the public to state their choice in advance of anymeeting.If it has been decided beforehand to providetranslation facilities, this will be made clear in publicnotices and publicity for the event.It is acknowledged that specific statutory rights to usethe Welsh language in legal proceedings apply inWales. Therefore, in areas or on occasions whereWelsh is likely to be used, translation facilities will beprovided (as detailed in 4.3 above).Organisers of public meetings will assess the needfor bilingual staff to receive and welcome membersof the public and to be present to deal with queriesand answer questions in either language.Staff are to wear identification badges to indicatetheir bilingual ability.Operational guidelines on making provision for theuse of Welsh have been issued to staff involved inorganising public meetings.3.5 Other MeetingsThe Council arranges and conducts many meetings, in additionto those open to the public. These include personal visits bythe public to workplaces, professional visits by staff,educational and care assessments, private interviews, sitemeetings and other face to face dealings. It is the Council'sobjective that members of the public who wish to use Welshat such meetings are welcome and able to do so.Given the current distribution of bilingual staff across theCouncil, it is not possible at present to provide a fully bilingualservice for all service areas. However, this capacity will increaseas staffing measures in the Scheme are gradually implemented.In particular, where the discussion is of a technical nature, orneeds to be with a particular member of staff who cannotspeak Welsh, the meeting may have to be held in English.Nevertheless, the Council will do its best within its currentstaffing arrangements to deal with members of the public inWelsh.To assist the Council to deliver thiscommitment, the aim will be forarrangements to be made for workplaceswithout Welsh speakers to have access tobilingual staff who can respond torequests for meetings in Welsh.When a meeting is organised with anindividual or organisation known toprefer to use Welsh, or has chosen touse Welsh when asked to inform theCouncil of their language preference,arrangements will be made to holdthe meeting in Welsh or to providea translation service.