The new Welsh Language Commissioner has imposed language standards on organisations for the first time since taking up her position earlier this year. Efa Gruffudd Jones has announced that regulatory bodies for health professional will need to comply with Welsh language standards by the end of the year.
This will allow members of health professions such as doctors, nurses and dentists to register with their regulator through the medium of Welsh. The standards will also create rights in terms of participating in legal proceedings in Welsh, and further rights through service and operating standards.
This is also the first time that the Commissioner has been able to extend rights through the standards system since 2019 following the approval of these new Regulations by the Senedd in October 2022. According to the commissioner, the aim of the standards is to ensure that the Welsh language is treated "no less favourably" than the English language in Wales, while ensuring it is a "living language" that can be used on a "daily basis".
