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<span class="gmail-off-screen"></span>Watchdog tells councils told to mind language barriers</a>
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</figure><p class="gmail-story-body__introduction">Nearly half of
Welsh councils do not have a formal policy to reduce language barriers
for people who are deaf or speak little English or Welsh.</p><p>The Wales Audit Office [WAO] report also found at least one, unnamed, health board lacked formal policies. </p><p>Around 84,500 people in Wales said their main language is not English or Welsh and some 7,200 use sign language.</p><p>Assistant Auditor General Anthony Barrett said public services needed to ensure everyone can access them.</p><p>The
report, entitled "Speak My Language", said "all of the 15 councils [out
of 22] and seven NHS bodies that responded to our information request
had provided some training for at least some of their staff such as
face-face training and guidance as well as displaying posters,
e-training and putting information on their intranet.</p><p>"However,
less than half of the organisations responding had a formal policy
detailing their duties and/or citizen's rights in relation to
interpretation and translation. </p><p>"The policies differed in detail but all provided information about the process for booking interpretation and translation.</p>
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<br></li></ul></div></div></div></div></div><br>-- <br><div class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature">=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+<br><br> Harold F. Schiffman<br><br>Professor Emeritus of <br> Dravidian Linguistics and Culture <br>Dept. of South Asia Studies <br>University of Pennsylvania<br>Philadelphia, PA 19104-6305<br><br>Phone: (215) 898-7475<br>Fax: (215) 573-2138 <br><br>Email: <a href="mailto:haroldfs@gmail.com" target="_blank">haroldfs@gmail.com</a><br><a href="http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/" target="_blank">http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/</a> <br><br>-------------------------------------------------</div>
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