No reply to Welsh letters

By Parliamentary correspondent David Cornock

Jon Owen Jones has offered to translate the letter for Lord Falconer

The UK Government department that includes the Wales Office has admitted it cannot reply to letters written in Welsh.

The Department for Constitutional Affairs (DCA), which subsumed the Wales Office in June, says it receives very few letters in the language.

Its policy came to light after the Cardiff Central MP Jon Owen Jones forwarded a constituent's letter.

He received a telephone call in response, with the message that the DCA had no facilities to deal with correspondence in Welsh.

Mr Jones has now written to the department's boss, Lord Falconer, asking why it has no translation facility.

The MP, a former Welsh Office Minister, offered to translate the letter for Lord Falconer.

A DCA spokesman said, "It is indeed the case that the Department for Constitutional Affairs does not presently respond to correspondence in Welsh. It has to be said that we receive very few letters in Welsh.

However, the department is of course keen to promote the use of Welsh, as is evidenced in its issue of Welsh press releases, job advertisements for judicial posts and consultation documents.

Furthermore, extensive sections of the Court Service website are in Welsh as are parts of the department's own website. Indeed, the department has a complaints procedure in Welsh."

The Department for Constitutional Affairs now includes Wales Office civil servants and the junior Wales Office Minister, Don Touhig.

It was set up after the Cabinet reshuffle in June which combined the post of Welsh Secretary with leader of the Commons.