Rules and ethics
Welsh Language Standards 58 and 59: the legal chain from the 2011 Measure to the £5,000 penalty cap
Standards 58 and 59 on social media sit in the 2015 Regulations, which rest on the Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011. Sections 25, 71, 82 and 83 explained.
What to take away
- Two numbered standards cover social mediaStandard 58 and Standard 59.
- They sit in Schedule 1 of the Welsh Language Standards (No. 1) Regulations 2015, among the service delivery standards.
- The duty to comply with a standard comes from section 25 of the Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011.
- Section 71 lets the Commissioner investigate. Section 83 caps a civil penalty at £5,000.
- Linked documents, video and audio clips fall outside Standards 58 and 59.
The two standards in the Regulations
Schedule 1 of the Welsh Language Standards (No. 1) Regulations 2015 has a heading for standards relating to a body's use of social media. It holds two standards. Which of them a body must meet depends on the Regulations and notices that name that body.
| Standard | Text in the Regulations | Plain reading |
|---|---|---|
| Standard 58 | When you use social media you must not treat the Welsh language less favourably than the English language. | Equal treatment of Welsh and English. |
| Standard 59 | If a person contacts you by social media in Welsh, you must reply in Welsh (if an answer is required). | A Welsh contact gets a Welsh reply. |
The Standards schedule also fixes what the two standards leave out. Standards 58 and 59 do not apply to documents linked through social media, or to video and audio clips provided through social media. Those fall under the document standards.
Three interpretation rules
First, treating Welsh no less favourably covers, among other matters, when material is published on the website, app or social media. Timing is part of the standard.
Second, Standards 1 to 7 (correspondence) do not apply to correspondence sent by social media. Standards 58 and 59 apply there instead.
Third, the website standards do not apply to social media either. Social media has its own two standards, not a borrowed set.
How the Regulations are organised
Regulation 2 splits the standards across schedules. Schedule 1 specifies service delivery standards, and the social media standards sit there. Schedule 5 specifies record keeping standards, which are a separate set of duties from Standards 58 and 59.
- Identify the Regulations and any compliance notice that name the body.
- Read Standards 58 and 59 in Schedule 1.
- Read the exclusions for linked documents, video and audio.
- Read the record keeping standards in Schedule 5 if they apply.
From the Measure to the Regulations
Section 1 of the Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011 concerns the official status of Welsh; check the legislation.gov.uk page for what section 1 covers. Section 25 then sets the duty: a person must comply with a standard of conduct specified by the Welsh Ministers if the conditions in that section are met.
The Regulations are the instrument that specifies the standards. So the chain has three links. The Measure creates the Commissioner and the duty to comply. The Regulations name the standards. Standards 58 and 59 are the numbered rules that apply to social posts and replies.
The Welsh Language Measure (Wales) 2011 created a duty for public sector organisations operating within Wales to treat the Welsh language no less favourably than the English language. From this duty the Welsh Language Standards were created, stating specifically what a body must do to comply with the law on treating Welsh no less favourably than English.
For the practical side, localise social media content for Welsh and English audiences with a native reviewer, and apply data protection for multilingual campaigns to any reply log.
Enforcement: sections 71, 82 and 83
The Commissioner may investigate whether a person has failed to comply with a relevant requirement under section 71. A relevant requirement includes a duty to comply with a standard specified by the Welsh Ministers. A failure under Standard 58 or 59 can therefore be investigated like any other.
If the Commissioner finds a failure, one option is to require the body to publicise it (section 82). Section 83 limits civil penalties: the civil penalty rules say a penalty must not exceed £5,000 and is recoverable by the Commissioner as a debt.
Section of the Measure / What it covers
- 1
- Creation of the Welsh Language Commissioner
- 25
- Duty to comply with standards specified by the Welsh Ministers
- 71
- Investigation of failure to comply
- 82
- Requiring the failure to be publicised
- 83
- Civil penalties, capped at £5,000
Where agencies and contracts fit
An agency that publishes for a public body works within the same standards as the body. Write the duty into the brief using bilingual marketing contracts, and name who handles Welsh messages through multilingual community management.
Before release, a second person can trace the post with the multilingual social post quality checklist. Where the body publishes a disclosure policy, both language versions carry it.
