Providing our services in Welsh
Update on our work to provide services in the Welsh language.
We take the obligations of our Welsh Language Scheme seriously and want our Welsh speaking customers to be able access our services in Welsh. As we develop our online services we are making sure that Welsh speakers can access these services in Welsh and recently conducted focus groups with them to better understand what, in their opinion, makes a great Welsh digital service.
HMCTS has already developed new services which are available in Welsh. Our users can get help with fees, enter a plea in Welsh or pay a court fine in Welsh. A full list of Welsh services on GOV.UK is available.
We are also in the process of reviewing our Welsh Language Scheme in order to ensure that it more adequately reflects the needs of Welsh speakers. We will also look at ways of raising awareness that Welsh speakers have an absolute legal right to speak Welsh in any court or tribunal hearing in Wales.
Customer comment:
Thank you very much you have been brilliant in helping me to complete in Welsh as I find it much easier in my own language than having to think of the English words!
Customer comment:
Going to court is stressful enough, but being able to discuss my case with you in Welsh made the experience a lot better and made me feel at ease.
Hywel Hughes, Head of Welsh Language Services at HMCTS discussed the development of services in Welsh in his Inside HMCTS blog post.