WQ92813 (w) Tabled on 10/05/2024

What assessment has the Government made of the extent of the use of Welsh information technology interfaces in the public sector in Wales?

Answered by Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Energy and Welsh Language | Answered on 21/05/2024

In the education sector, we’ve switched the default interface language of Microsoft Office 365 within Hwb from English to Welsh for 78,086 learners in 379 schools which teach through the medium of Welsh.

Whilst the technology is available, it is a local decision for each organisation facilitate its use. We give support and advice to make it easier for people in all sectors to use more Welsh on technology interfaces.

In our internal strategy for the use of the Welsh language, Cymraeg. It belongs to us all, we noted that we’ll ensure that our Welsh-speaking staff can access Welsh language interfaces of technology we use, without them having to request to do so.

There are companies working in this field who can offer the service. However, this is not publicly funded and would be a decision for an individual organisation to decide whether they use it. 

Increasing the use of Welsh has always been one of my priorities for our language, and this will be an important part of our next programme of work for Welsh language technology.