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Corporate report

Companies House Welsh language monitoring report 2025 to 2026

Published 14 August 2026

© Crown copyright 2026

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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/companies-house-welsh-language-report-2025-to-2026/companies-house-welsh-language-monitoring-report-2025-to-2026

1. Introduction

The Companies House Welsh Language Scheme was prepared in accordance with section 21(3) of the Welsh Language Act and received the full endorsement of the Welsh Language Board on 20 April 2010.

This report covers the period from 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026.

Companies House is proud to be headquartered in Cardiff and to provide Welsh language services to customers across Wales. Since establishing the Welsh Language Unit in 2020, we have significantly strengthened our ability to support and promote the Welsh language throughout the organisation.

The Unit plays a central role in embedding Welsh language considerations across all areas of the business, providing specialist advice, guidance and assurance to colleagues, service owners and senior leaders. Through increased collaboration, awareness raising and continuous improvement, we have enhanced our capacity to deliver high-quality bilingual services and to support compliance with our Welsh Language Scheme.

Our aim is to ensure that Welsh-speaking customers can access services confidently through the medium of Welsh and are treated no less favourably than customers who choose to interact with us in English. By working closely with business areas across Companies House, the Welsh Language Unit helps to ensure that Welsh language requirements are considered in the design, delivery and ongoing improvement of our services.

The continuing growth and development of the Welsh Language Unit reflects Companies House’s commitment to placing the Welsh language at the heart of service delivery and ensuring that Welsh-speaking customers receive an excellent and equitable service.

We have also maintained a dedicated Welsh Language Committee, which plays a key role in providing oversight and assurance for Welsh language provision across Companies House. The Committee meets regularly to monitor performance, review progress against our Welsh Language Scheme commitments, identify opportunities for improvement and provide strategic direction where required.

Membership is drawn from a wide range of business areas, ensuring that Welsh language considerations are embedded across the organisation and reflected in decision-making at all levels. The Committee is chaired by the Director of Digital and Technology, demonstrating senior leadership commitment to the Welsh language and helping to drive accountability for delivery across the organisation.

While we are proud of the significant progress made during the reporting period, we recognise that our commitment to the Welsh language is one of continuous improvement. We remain focused on enhancing the end-to-end customer journey for Welsh-speaking customers and strengthening the availability, consistency and quality of Welsh language services across all channels.

Through the implementation of our new Welsh Language Scheme, we will continue to deepen our understanding of the needs and expectations of Welsh-speaking customers, use customer insight to inform service design and improvement, and ensure that Welsh language requirements are considered from the outset in the development of new services, policies, processes and technologies. Our ambition is to deliver a seamless, high-quality bilingual experience, enabling customers to interact with Companies House confidently and consistently in Welsh at every stage of their journey.

2. Achievements

During the reporting period, Companies House undertook a significant investment in its Welsh language capability by expanding the Welsh Language Unit and recruiting 2 additional specialist posts: a Welsh Language Unit translation and policy manager and a Welsh Language Unit business and policy manager. The creation of these roles was designed to strengthen both the operational delivery and strategic oversight of Welsh language services across the organisation.

These appointments have significantly increased the Welsh Language Unit’s capacity and capability, providing greater resilience, reducing reliance on external support, strengthening governance and compliance activities, and enabling a stronger focus on continuous improvement of the Welsh-language customer experience. Together, they support our ongoing commitment to delivering high-quality bilingual services and meeting our obligations under Welsh language legislation.

In addition, in November 2025, Companies House introduced a dedicated Welsh language contact centre line. This improvement enables customers who wish to conduct their business in Welsh to be connected directly to a Welsh-speaking adviser, removing the need for customers to request a Welsh speaker after contacting us. The introduction of this service has improved the customer journey for Welsh speakers, provided a more seamless Welsh-language experience, and demonstrates our commitment to offering Welsh-language services proactively rather than reactively.

This combined investment in people, expertise and customer-facing services has strengthened our ability to meet the needs of Welsh-speaking customers and support the delivery of our Welsh Language Scheme.

3. Compliance with the Welsh Language Scheme

Companies House remains committed to complying with its Welsh Language Scheme. From 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026, we achieved the following.

Our Welsh Language Committee met bimonthly to ensure adherence to the Companies House Welsh Language Scheme and review progress against the action plan

A team of Welsh speakers from various areas within Companies House continued to respond to customer enquiries.

We continued to review Companies House guidance to ensure that all guidance created by Companies House is available bilingually, other than that which is specifically not applicable to Welsh companies (for example, guidance on matters that affect only Scottish companies).

Customers who corresponded with Companies House in Welsh received a response in Welsh. All departments in Companies House communicate with our Welsh Language Unit to ensure that the customer has their correspondence in the language of their choice. The unit provided a translation service for each department to ensure that the service we provide is of equal quality to the English. The Welsh Language Unit has also provided advice and guidance to operational leaders on upskilling of Welsh speakers.

We have recruited more Welsh speakers to ensure there are people on hand with the necessary knowledge to deal with any Welsh filings that come in.

Each set of Welsh language accounts received from Welsh companies were translated into English for the public record, as required by law. These accounts continue to be translated by an external provider to ensure that the accounts are available on the public record in an efficient and timely manner. We continue to provide an annotation to our process to ensure that credit reference agencies are aware that the accounts that appear on the public record are awaiting a translation.

Additionally, we continued to translate correspondence into Welsh to satisfy the requirements of our Welsh Language Scheme. This included letters, forms, guidance, and translations for our online filing services.

All contracts issued included a clause ensuring that our service partners comply with Companies House Welsh language commitments.

Companies House continued to participate in the UK Government interdepartmental CALL Committee. The committee regularly brings together representatives from the Welsh language units of various UK Government departments and provides an ideal forum to share best practice and find solutions to improving our Welsh language services with a mind to achieving a more standardised approach across government. Colleagues from the CALL committee provided support for the establishment of the Welsh Language Unit at Companies House.

4. Mainstreaming the Welsh language

4.1 Campaign site

We have a fully bilingual website to promote changes related to the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act. Since publication, the Welsh language site has had more than 4,000 views. Over the past year we’ve updated it with more pages and detailed information to support people with their changing responsibilities, including Getting help with identity verification. The website is the first fully bilingual government campaign platform and was recognised by the Government Communication Service as an example of best practice.

4.2 Social media

X

We use our X channel to serve as a customer service tool and a platform for responding to direct queries. We post English and Welsh morning messages on X to encourage users to contact us if they have a question. We’ve posted 44 Welsh language morning messages. These have been seen more than 13,700 times and have had 11 engagements.

We didn’t receive any queries in Welsh during the timeframe.

Facebook

From 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026, we posted 27 times on Facebook in the Welsh language. These posts covered a variety of topics, from signposting to the Newidiadau i gyfraith cwmniau’r DU website to promoting recruitment opportunities at Companies House, such as apprenticeships.

We trialled new format types to help people with their obligations to Companies House, such as carousel posts to explain identity verification.

Our Welsh language posts on Facebook have been seen more than 33,000 times.

4.3 YouTube

From 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026, our ‘Cymraeg’ YouTube playlist had 236 views and a total watch time of 2.5 hours.

4.4 Campaigns

Throughout the reporting period, we delivered a multichannel communications campaign to support the rollout of identity verification - a new legal requirement affecting all company directors and people with significant control (PSCs). Key campaign materials were available in both Welsh and English, including bilingual social media ads, digital content and a dedicated partner toolkit, providing our strategic partners and stakeholders with Welsh-language assets and suggested copy to help them communicate key messages through their own channels. This approach ensured Welsh-speaking audiences had equal access to information and guidance throughout the campaign, supporting awareness and understanding of the new legal requirements.

4.5 Email to all registered email addresses

We’ve been collecting registered email addresses for all companies since March 2024. Throughout April 2025 to March 2026, we sent 19,237 bilingual informational emails to nearly 2,000 companies who have requested bilingual correspondence from us or have a Welsh name ending (for example, ‘Cyfyngedig’).  The emails informed people about their responsibilities and included guidance about new identity verification requirements, changes to accounts filing, and changes to fees.

4.6 News stories

From 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026, we published 3 news stories bilingually in Welsh and English:

The Welsh language versions of these news stories received 50 unique page views in total.

4.7 GOV.UK guidance and service pages

From 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026, we published the following new pages bilingually in Welsh and English.

Ten new guidance and services pages:

The Welsh language versions of these guidance pages received 3,084 unique page views in total.

Four new collection pages:

Three new corporate reports / policy papers:

Four forms:

The above list refers to new pages. For pre-existing pages which had updates published between 1 April 2025 and 31 March 2026, and where a translation existed for the page, we also published the update in Welsh.

5. Performance indicators

5.1 Companies House contact centre

During the reporting period, we continued to strengthen our Welsh-language telephone provision. In November 2025, Companies House introduced a dedicated Welsh-language telephone option using Instant Voice Recognition technology. This enables customers to select Welsh at the start of their call and be transferred directly to a Welsh-speaking adviser, removing the need for customers to specifically request a Welsh speaker. This represents a significant improvement in the Welsh-language customer journey and supports the principle of an active offer of Welsh-language services.

Alongside the introduction of the Welsh-language line, a new Welsh-language Service Level Agreement was implemented. This requires the contact centre to demonstrate that Welsh-speaking advisers are available during operational hours and provides greater accountability for the delivery of Welsh-language services.

Companies House now has 6 full-time Welsh-speaking advisers within the contact centre, an increase intended to improve service resilience and ensure customers can access support in Welsh when required. The Welsh Language Unit continues to work closely with the contact centre through regular engagement, monitoring activity, and spot checks to provide assurance that Welsh-language services are being delivered effectively and in accordance with the Welsh Language Scheme

The impact of the new Welsh-language line was evident immediately following its introduction. Within the first 3 weeks, the contact centre received 75 Welsh-language calls, 3 Welsh-language emails and 5 Welsh-language webchat contacts. This demonstrates that when Welsh-language services are offered proactively and are easy to access, customers make use of them.

Between April and October 2025, only one Welsh-language telephone call and 23 Welsh-language emails were recorded. After the introduction of a dedicated Welsh language line in November 2025, customer engagement through Welsh-language channels increased substantially, with 481 calls and 62 emails received. This demonstrates the positive impact of providing customers with a clear and accessible route to Welsh-language services.

5.2 Language training and awareness

Companies House has continued to promote the Welsh language and support the development of Welsh language skills among staff, creating opportunities for colleagues to learn, use and increase their confidence in Welsh in the workplace.

The Welsh Language Unit continues to host a monthly Caffi Cymraeg session, providing a welcoming and informal environment for staff to practise their Welsh. The sessions are attended by both fluent Welsh speakers and learners from across the organisation, helping to build confidence, encourage the use of Welsh in the workplace and foster a supportive Welsh-speaking community. In addition, the Welsh Language Unit provides online support sessions for colleagues undertaking Welsh language learning.

To raise awareness of the Welsh language across Companies House, the Welsh Language Unit regularly publishes articles, language tips and Welsh vocabulary on Interact, the organisation’s intranet. The Unit also maintains a dedicated Welsh language page containing guidance on bilingual communications, information about the Welsh Language Scheme, and details of Welsh speakers across the organisation. This helps colleagues access support and encourages the consideration of Welsh language requirements in day-to-day work.

The Welsh Language Unit also manages an internal Welsh language community, which currently has 128 members, where Welsh-language content, events and learning opportunities are promoted. A dedicated Microsoft Teams channel is also used to share resources, celebrate Welsh language activity and encourage participation in Welsh language events.

In line with its Welsh Language Skills and Training Strategy, Companies House continues to offer Welsh language learning opportunities to all staff. The organisation fully supports those who undertake Welsh language training by funding course fees and providing facilitated learning time during working hours.

During the reporting period, Companies House supported 2 Welsh language learning cohorts through Learn Welsh Glamorgan, with 17 colleagues studying at intermediate level through online learning sessions. This investment reflects our commitment to increasing Welsh language capability across the organisation and improving our capacity to provide bilingual services.

Companies House also continued to encourage participation in volunteer and outreach activities that support local communities and provide opportunities to use and develop Welsh language skills in practical settings. As part of this work, the organisation has continued its engagement with Ysgol Gyfun Glantaf, helping to promote Companies House and support Welsh-medium education and community engagement.

Through these activities, Companies House continues to strengthen awareness of the Welsh language, increase opportunities for staff to learn and use Welsh, and build organisational capability to deliver high-quality bilingual services.

5.3 Promoting Welsh language and culture

The Welsh Language Unit continued to raise awareness of the Welsh language and Welsh culture across Companies House through a range of engagement activities during the reporting period.

To mark St David’s Day, the Welsh Language Unit organised a celebration open to all colleagues across Companies House. The event showcased the talents of Welsh speakers and Welsh learners from across the organisation through a variety of performances and activities, providing an opportunity for colleagues to come together to celebrate Wales’s language, culture and heritage. The event was very well attended and demonstrated the enthusiasm and support for the Welsh language across the organisation.

The celebration also received support from senior leadership, with the chief executive delivering a speech recognising the importance of the Welsh language and the contribution of Welsh speakers and learners within Companies House. This visible leadership support helped reinforce our commitment to creating an inclusive workplace where the Welsh language can thrive.

Events such as this play an important role in promoting the use of Welsh, increasing awareness of Welsh culture, and creating opportunities for colleagues to engage with the language in a positive and welcoming environment. They also support our wider ambition to embed Welsh language considerations across the organisation and encourage greater confidence in using Welsh at work.

6. Complaints

The number of complaints received about the lack of Welsh language service provision and the steps put in place to resolve these complaints.

During this reporting period there was 2 instances in which a customer contacted Companies House relating to its Welsh language service. Please see a summary of the complaints below.

6.1 Complaint 1 – failure to provide Welsh correspondence and customer contact in Welsh

One customer complained that they were not receiving responses to emails in Welsh, despite the company having a Welsh language marker recorded. The customer also reported receiving identity verification correspondence in English. The matter was subsequently escalated to the Welsh Language Commissioner. Companies House investigated the complaint, implemented corrective actions, and worked with the relevant service areas to strengthen processes for handling customers with a Welsh language preference. The customer was satisfied with the actions taken, and the case was closed.

6.2 Complaint 2 – Welsh correspondence and service availability

A second customer complained that they were not receiving responses to emails in Welsh despite having a Welsh language marker on their account. Following investigation, Companies House strengthened internal processes and arrangements with the Companies House contact centre to help ensure Welsh language preferences were recognised and applied correctly. The Welsh Language Unit assumed responsibility for the customer correspondence while improvements were implemented.

6.3 Outcome and learning

Neither complaint related to a failure to provide a Welsh language service intentionally; rather, both highlighted weaknesses in the consistent application of Welsh language preferences across some customer journeys and services. As a result, Companies House reviewed and strengthened processes between the Welsh Language Unit and customer-facing teams, improving identification and handling of customers who wish to communicate in Welsh. These complaints have helped inform ongoing improvements to Welsh language service delivery and monitoring arrangements.

7. Conclusion

Companies House remains committed to delivering high-quality Welsh language services and to embedding the Welsh language throughout the organisation. During the reporting period, we have continued to strengthen our Welsh language capability, improve customer access to Welsh services and increase awareness of Welsh language responsibilities across all business areas.

Through the work of the Welsh Language Unit, the Welsh Language Committee and colleagues across the organisation, we will continue to drive continuous improvement, using customer feedback, performance data and lessons learned to inform future developments. We will work proactively with service owners and senior leaders to ensure Welsh language considerations are embedded in service design, policy development, communications and customer delivery.

8. Companies House action plan

8.1 Legislation and initiatives

Action required Target date Action owner Progress to date/notes
Review action plan on a quarterly basis Quarterly The Welsh Language Unit/Welsh Language Committee The content of the action plan was reviewed as part of the Welsh Language Committee which met bimonthly in 2025 to 2026.
Review strategic plan quarterly to link to the Welsh language action plan Quarterly The Welsh Language Unit Our commitment to Welsh language services underpins 2 of our key strategic goals - brilliant services that give a great user experience and registers of data that inspire trust and confidence.
Consider how new policies, projects and developments will conform with the commitments set out in the Welsh Language Scheme Ongoing The Welsh Language Unit We have continued, and will continue, to consider our Welsh Language Scheme in new policies, developments and projects. A Welsh Language Impact Assessment is now included as part of project managers’ Gate Reviews.

8.2 Staffing

Action required Target date Action owner Progress to date/notes
Maintain ongoing Welsh language training, targeted at language speaking skills Ongoing The Welsh Language Unit/Human Resources Two cohorts of Welsh lessons are currently running and the Welsh Language Unit continue to promote  the  Work Welsh modules throughout the organisation.
Ensure Welsh speaking staff are present in all major operational areas to provide cover for Welsh speaking customers Ongoing Directors Companies House ensures Welsh speaking staff are available in all areas to examine Welsh filings or respond to Welsh customers. We have recruited more Welsh speakers in the accounts area of the business to ensure that anybody submitting their accounts in Welsh receive an equal service to the English as we have staff on hand to examine and process these accounts.
Internally promote Companies House’s requirements under the Welsh Language Scheme, ensuring staff understand their responsibilities and where to seek assistance Ongoing Welsh language Unit/Strategy and Policy We regularly made staff aware of our commitment to our Welsh Language Scheme on our internal Welsh Language Unit SharePoint site. The Welsh language Unit have also been holding Welsh awareness sessions with the different teams, ensuring that all the teams know the correct processes to follow with our Welsh customers.
Maintain Welsh team in Companies House to provide cover for Welsh speaking customers and hold regular meetings to discuss issues and progress Ongoing Welsh Language Unit/Customer Delivery Directorate The Welsh Language Unit provides expert advice, guidance and quality assurance for customer correspondence, helping to ensure that Welsh-speaking customers receive clear, accurate and consistent communications. Established process and strong collaboration across business areas help ensure that customers can receive correspondence in their language of choice. The contact centre serves as the first point of contact for Welsh calls and is central to the delivery of our Welsh language services.  We remain committed to maintaining and developing Welsh language capability within the contact centre an internally through effective workforce planning, recruitment and succession planning, ensuring that Welsh-speaking customers can continue to access high-quality support through the medium of Welsh.

8.3 Publicity campaigns, exhibitions, advertising and press releases

Action required Target date Action owner Progress to date/notes
Ensure Welsh speakers attend all events at which there is a Companies House presence in Wales Ongoing Events team No events have taken place during this time period.
Ensure Welsh literature is available at events held in Wales Ongoing Events team No events have taken place during this time period.
Ensure adverts and press releases are available in Welsh, when published in Wales Ongoing Human Resources/ICT Now that Civil Service Jobs supports bilingual functionality, we have begun using this functionality. We will build on this approach over the coming years, increasing the use of bilingual recruitment materials to promote opportunities more effectively to Welsh speakers and support our Welsh language commitments.

8.4 Publications and forms

Action required Target date Action owner Progress to date/notes
Ensure Companies House Welsh publications are updated in parallel with English versions Ongoing Policy, Comms and Welsh Language Unit Companies House continues to ensure that Welsh publications are updated at the same time as English publications.
Ensure Welsh statutory forms are updated in parallel with English versions Ongoing Implementation unit, Creative team and Welsh Language Unit Companies House continues to ensure that Welsh forms are updated at the same time as English forms.
Monitor usage of letters to ensure Welsh versions are used where appropriate Ongoing Business Change Development Companies House continues to monitor usage of letters to ensure a response is provided in Welsh where required. Throughout the period our customer delivery support team have reviewed the provision of our Welsh letters.

8.5 Websites

Action required Target date Action owner Progress to date/notes
Ensure the Welsh website is updated in parallel with the English version, when relevant, and that the information on the Welsh website is up to date Ongoing External communications/Welsh Language Unit We continued to increase Welsh content on GOV.UK. The Welsh language Unit monitor this and have regular meetings with the external communications team.
Social Media Ongoing External communications/Welsh Language Unit We ensure that Welsh X and Facebook posts are posted on a weekly basis. This is important to encourage more Welsh customers to communicate with us in Welsh. We have a message on both platforms to say that we welcome correspondence in Welsh.

8.6 Face to face meetings

Action required Target date Action owner Progress to date/notes
Ensure that customers can request a Welsh speaker should they wish to conduct their business in Welsh Ongoing Welsh Language Unit/Customer Service No face to face meetings happen anymore but we can offer this service over Microsoft Teams.

8.7 Telephone communications

Action required Target date Action owner Progress to date/notes
Ensure that customers who want to conduct their business in Welsh can speak to a Welsh speaker Ongoing Contact centre/Welsh Language Unit/Customer Delivery Directorate We introduced a new Welsh language line in November 2025 so we will continue to monitor quality and ensure the service model is operating as it should.

8.8 Signs

Action required Target date Action owner Progress to date/notes
Ensure that all public signage for the Cardiff office is displayed bilingually Ongoing Building Services/Welsh Language Unit All public signage is produced bilingually.

8.9 Complaints

Action required Target date Action owner Progress to date/notes
To ensure complaints about Companies House’s Welsh Language service are fully investigated and dealt with promptly, in line with the Companies House normal complaints procedure Ongoing Welsh Language Unit/Policy Complaints section of the report.
Monitor complaints regarding bilingual service Ongoing Welsh Language Unit/Policy The Welsh Language Unit monitors all complaints regarding the bilingual service as per the complaints section of the report.
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