We aim to ensure all documents produced by Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council for public consumption are bilingual Welsh/English, in accordance with our statutory Welsh Language Scheme. We also provide a simultaneous translation service for public meetings facilitated by the Local Authority. If English or Welsh aren’t your first languages, the authority can arrange interpreters who provide interpretation in the main languages spoken in the area.
For further details contact the Translation Team on 01443 744160 or the Equalities, Diversity & Social Justice Team on 01443 424075, email: equality@rhondda-cynon-taff.gov.uk|.
Sign Language Interpreting Services
Under the Disability Discrimination Act, service providers must ensure that deaf people have equal access to information and services. This may mean providing appropriate communication support.
We can provide an interpreter if you communicate using British Sign Language (BSL), if you are deafblind or are a lip reader (Hard of Hearing)
We will interpret in a variety of settings, for example:
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hospital meetings and consultations
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welfare rights services
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parent / teacher interviews
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social services meetings
The Council has signed up to the Wales Interpretation and Translation Service (WITS), all WITS BSL Interpreters and other communicators for the d/Deaf are fully qualified to Level 4 and trained in their Code of Conduct.
If you require the services of an Interpreter or communicator please inform the Council officer you are dealing with so that appropriate arrangements can be made.
Simultaneous Translation Equipment Hire
The council also hires its simultaneous translation equipment to community and private establishments alike at very competitive prices.
The service has two types of equipment available to hire.
Accumulative Vocabulary
The Accumulative Vocabulary (see related documents) is a bilingual collection of words and phrases current in the public life of Wales. The Vocabulary contains terms from many areas in which local government is involved, from health and leisure to education, transport, and the law. It also offers links to sources of information within a number of other public bodies. We will endeavour to update the Vocabulary biannually.
Your use of the Accumulative Vocabulary is subject to the general terms and conditions for the use of Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council websites. Anybody intending to make use of information relating to any particular matter must check that information with the relevant authoritative sources.
South East Wales Translators’ Forum
The Council plays a central role within the South East Wales Forum of Translators, with both its secretary and its vice-chairperson housed within the Council. The Forum, which meets every quarter year, consists of members invited from WLGA, the Welsh Assembly and the translation units of the southeast Wales councils and other local services. Its remit is to promote the highest professional standards for English-Welsh / Welsh-English translation within local services in Wales.
For further details, contact the Forum’s Secretary on 01443 744160.
Welsh Language Scheme
The Council has adopted the principle that, in the conduct of public business and the administration of justice in Wales, it would treat the English and Welsh languages on a basis of equality. This principle is being applied to the Council's service delivery and the Welsh Language Scheme, prepared under the Welsh Language Act 1993, sets out how this will be achieved.
The current Scheme runs from 2009-2012 (click here| to see current Scheme) replaces the previous Scheme which was in force from April 2006. The Council’s intention is to build on the previous Welsh Language Scheme and strengthen it. The first Scheme was in 2002.
Currently the Council provides an annual monitoring report (AMR) on the implementation and management of its Welsh Language Scheme which summarises the corporate health of the Welsh language. The report is presented to the Welsh Language Board as an Assembly sponsored statutory public body. To see the latest AMR prepared and submitted in June 2011, click here|. As part of its remit, the Welsh Language Board (WLB) provides its own response to the Council's AMR. To read the latest response report, click here| (or click on the document entitled 'Ymateb Bwrdd yr Iaith' on the right hand side of this page).
For further information, please contact the Welsh Language and Training Officer on 01443 744069 / 744073.