Committee publication · Correspondence · 22 April 2026
Correspondence from Dr Rob Jones and Dr Gregory Davies, relating to Welsh language provision in prisons, dated 7 October 2025
From: Welsh Affairs Committee
Summary
Dr Rob Jones and Dr Gregory Davies write to the Welsh Affairs Committee chair regarding Welsh language provision in prisons, following HM Chief Inspector of Prisons' June response. They argue that current accountability mechanisms are inadequate and call for HMIP to lead design of dedicated Welsh language survey questions and purposively sample Welsh-speaking prisoners during inspections, rather than deferring this responsibility to the Welsh Language Commissioner and prison service.
Key findings
- External accountability mechanisms for Welsh language in prisons are ineffective; Welsh language is treated as a 'low-level' issue by inspectors and Independent Monitoring Boards.
- A 'Catch-22' exists: inspectors do not ask about Welsh language because prisoners do not raise it, but prisoners may not raise it because inspectors are not asking.
- HMIP ordinarily assumes full responsibility for designing prisoner survey questionnaires for other sub-groups, yet proposes the Welsh Language Commissioner and prison service co-design the Welsh language survey—an inconsistent approach.
- HMIP confirmed it develops questionnaires 'in-house' and does not invite MoJ or HMPPS input to survey design, making its proposal to involve prison service in Welsh language survey design contradictory.
- Authors recommend HMIP lead development of a bespoke Welsh language survey, purposively sample Welsh-speaking prisoners, and include a dedicated Welsh language section in all inspection reports for Welsh prisons.
Tone
CriticalTopics
Key actors
Dr Rob Jones, Dr Gregory Davies, Ruth Jones MP, HM Chief Inspector of Prisons, Welsh Language Commissioner, Independent Monitoring Boards, HM Prisons (HMIP)
Notable line
“… inspectors do not ask about the language because prisoners do not raise it, but prisoners may not raise it because inspectors are not asking about it.”
Key Quotes
“… the external accountability mechanisms for the Welsh language in prison are ineffective and insufficient.”
“… the Welsh language is often seen as a 'low-level' issue for inspectors and prison visitors.”
“Given that HMIP ordinarily assume full responsibility for the task of designing the questionnaires it uses during inspections, it remains unclear why survey questions for Welsh- speaking prisoners should be developed differently to those used for other sub-groups in prison.”
“'additional bespoke survey to gather information about Welsh language services...is something I suggest the Welsh Language Commissioner works directly with the prison service to develop'.”
“… this does not include MoJ or HMPPS”
Source · parliament.uk record ↗