The body monitoring official use of the Welsh language may take action over plans to dispense with some translation of assembly speeches.
Despite not having investigatory powers, the Welsh Language Board has questioned the amount of consultation initiated by the Assembly Commission before a decision was finalised.
The Commission believes that by no longer translating speeches from English to Welsh, there will be a saving of around £250,000 per annum. Their proposals mirror existing arrangements in assembly committees.
The Board has refused a request to change the wording of the Assembly’s Welsh language scheme and a spokesperson said Section 4.8 of the scheme committed all plenary meetings of the Assembly to be bilingual, making it a statutory scheme which had been agreed by both the Assembly and the Commission.
The Board is awaiting an explanation of the decision made by the Commission, believing it could investigate the decision under a section of the 1993 Welsh Language Act allowing it to examine alleged breaches of language schemes. However, the Commission does not agree that the Board had the power to investigate this matter as this language scheme was the responsibility of the Assembly.