At The National Lottery Community Fund we are committed to providing a bilingual service to our customers and staff. We are proud to be working with the Welsh Language Commissioner on the implementation of our Welsh Language Standards. Writing our Annual Report on how we meet the standards has been a great opportunity for us to reflect on our successes in the year 2022-2023 and look forward to the year ahead.

In the picture: Welsh Language Commissioner, Efa Gruffudd Jones and Welsh Language Officer for The National Lottery Community Fund, Awel Jones

We have implemented a Welsh scheme here at the National Lottery Community Fund since its inception in 1994. But since January 2017 the Fund is proud to work together with the Welsh Language Commissioner to implement the Welsh language standards. The Welsh language standards are a list of legal requirements on how an organisation should provide a bilingual service. The Fund operates under 4 classes of standards which are Service Delivery, Policy Making, Implementation, and Record Keeping. You can see a full list of our standards in our Compliance Notice. We are monitored regularly by the Commissioner’s staff and are pleased to implement all classes of our standards with the highest assurance of compliance. 

The annual report on our standards is an opportunity for us to reflect on the work we have done in the past year to improve our Welsh language services. Some of our successes this year include:

• The launch of our new strategy ‘It Starts with Community’ in June 2023 ensuring that all consultation work, and all new materials created were bilingual.

• Testing materials with Welsh customers for our new programme The UK Fund.

• Sharing content about the Welsh language, or events and projects that promote the language in our monthly newsletter, while continuing to share the content in our bilingual social channels.

• Continue to advertise jobs bilingually for jobs based in Wales or UK wide, ensuring that we have considered the language needs of the jobs. There were 4 Welsh speakers appointed this year. 50% (23 out of 46) of staff in the Welsh directorate currently speak Welsh.

• Support staff to learn and improve their Welsh. We currently have 8 learners at the Fund with the majority of our learners working outside the Welsh directorate in teams across the UK.

• Promoting our Welsh culture internally celebrating Welsh days and festivals such as St David’s Day.

We have highlighted how we support projects that promote the use of Welsh in communities in the report. Our grants have supported projects by the Mentrau Iaith for festivals that promote Welsh culture and we have supported major Welsh events such as the National Eisteddfod.

Our Head of Communications and Engagement, Ruth Bates, said:

“We pride ourselves on being community funders that provides a bilingual service. We have special staff who work across Wales from north to south who actively support groups who want to do their application in Welsh.” 

The Welsh Language Commissioner, Efa Gruffudd Jones said:

“The National Lottery Community Fund plays a vital role in supporting projects that are core to our community infrastructure. The body’s commitment to the Welsh language has been strong since its inception and their engagement with grassroots movements means that the Welsh language naturally permeates their activities. It is pleasing to see the Welsh Language Standards and how the Fund responds to them feature prominently in this annual report and I welcome their desire to go beyond what is statutorily required.”

You can read our annual report in full here: Welsh language standards annual report (tnlcommunityfund.org.uk)

For more information on how we comply with Welsh language standards within the Fund see our website: Welsh Language Standards | The National Lottery Community Fund (tnlcommunityfund.org.uk)

Get in touch with our Welsh team on welshlanguage.advice@tnlcommunityfund.org.uk with any questions.