Welsh Language Scheme
This scheme has been prepared under the Welsh Language Act 1993 and received the full endorsement of the Welsh Language Board on 13 July 2004
The Department for Work and Pensions [the “Department”] has adopted the principle that in the conduct of public business and the administration of justice in Wales, it will treat the English and Welsh languages on a basis of equality. This Scheme sets out how the Department will give effect to that principle when providing services to the public in Wales.
Introduction
The Welsh Language Scheme for the Department for Work and Pensions consists of this overarching statement of principles, plus a number of Annexes describing how the principles are already, or in some cases will in future be put into practice in the constituent parts of the Department. These documents have been prepared under section 21(3) of the Welsh Language Act 1993, have in each case been approved at the highest level, and follow the guidelines issued by the Welsh Language Board.
Members of the public in Wales should note that except where new services are being planned or developed, all the measures described in these documents to ensure that the Welsh and English languages are treated on the basis of equality, should already be in place. For this reason the Scheme contains no timetable but where changes are planned and implementation dates known, this information will be detailed in the Annex for the business concerned.
Background
The Department for Work and Pensions was created on 8 June 2001. It brings together in a single Department the previous Department of Social Security (DSS) and most of its agencies, the Employment Service and some policy groups previously in the Department for Education and Employment (DfEE), now DfES (Department for Education and Skills). These deal with employment policy, international issues and civil rights for disabled people, which includes sponsorship of the Disability Rights Commission.
A full description of the current responsibilities of the Department for Work and Pensions is given in the Departmental framework that was published on 19 March 2002. This Scheme applies to all the Department’s associate bodies listed in the framework unless or until the Welsh Language Board requires them to prepare a separate Welsh Language Scheme.
A further change to the Departmental structure occurred on 24 July 2002 when the Prime Minister announced that the Health and Safety Commission and the Health and Safety Executive had been transferred to our Department. The Health and Safety Executive has a separate, long-standing relationship with the Welsh Language Board and is not covered by the main Welsh Language Scheme for the Department for Work and Pensions.
In addition, with effect from April 2003 responsibility for the Child Benefit Centre and financial support for children transferred to Inland Revenue.
Both DSS Headquarters and DfEE and a number of their Agencies had adopted Welsh Language Schemes. These schemes had been prepared in accordance with section 21(3) of the Welsh Language Act 1993, and formally approved by the Welsh Language Board. The Department for Work and Pensions will fulfil the requirements of the Welsh Language Act 1993 in accordance with the Government’s undertaking that Government Departments and Crown bodies will comply with the requirements of the Act as if the legislation placed them under an obligation to do so. In addition, the Department will honour the spirit of the commitments set out in the Welsh Language Schemes drawn up by its predecessor Departments, DfEE and DSS, and their respective Agencies, the Employment Service (ES) and Benefits Agency (BA), both of which ceased to exist from April 2002.
Scope of this document
The Department for Work and Pensions fully accepts that in the conduct of public business and the administration of justice in Wales the English and Welsh languages should be treated on a basis of equality as set out in the Welsh Language Act 1993.
The Annexes set out how individual businesses apply this principle within their areas of responsibility for the conduct of public business and the administration of justice in Wales (see footnote 1).
“Public business” within the Department for Work and Pensions includes all services provided to individual members of the public in Wales by, or on behalf of, the Department (but see footnote 1). Principally this involves:
- delivering frontline services to pensioners;
- regulation of occupational and private pensions;
- helping people of working age to find work and to receive the benefits to which they are entitled (and employers to fill their vacancies);
- delivering extra-cost disability benefits to disabled people and benefits to carers;
- delivering a professional, efficient and sensitive child support service which plays its part in ensuring that children whose parents do not live together are financially supported and kept out of poverty
- delivering debt management and recovery services;
- the conduct of policy on Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit (both of which are delivered by Local Authorities).
It does not, however, include any legislation, whether primary or secondary (see footnote 2), produced by the UK Parliament; technical documents, or other reports, papers and similar publications that, although available to the general public, are not targeted at them directly. Examples of the latter include research papers and internal records, including notes on social security benefit claims and similar documents in respect of individual members of the public. Such documents will continue to be produced - and made available to the public (see footnote 3) - in English.
Footnote 1. This does not include the Appeals Service whose current Welsh Language Scheme will continue in existence. This also applies to all subsequent references to the Department's businesses in this document.
Footnote 2. This does not, however, prevent the appearance of a form or certificate in Welsh if, exceptionally, the form of such documents is specified in the legislation.
Footnote 3. The Data Protection Act enables individuals to find out what information is held about them both on computer and in some paper records.
- The Report (in PDF format) (169KB)
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