The Welsh Language Commissioner, R (On the Application Of) v National Savings And Investments

Judgment

Mr Justice Hickinbottom:

Introduction

This is the judgment of the court to which we have both contributed.

In this claim, the Welsh Language Commissioner (“the Commissioner”) seeks to challenge the decision of National Savings and Investments (“NS&I”) to withdraw its Welsh language scheme (“the Scheme”); and its on-going failure to resume the Scheme despite the recommendation of the Commissioner that it should do so.

On 10 September 2013, I ordered the application for permission be set down for hearing with the substantive claim being heard immediately afterwards if permission be given; expressly on the basis that, whilst I considered the claim arguable, a rolled-up hearing would fully preserve the Defendant’s position in relation to the Claimant’s alleged delay in bringing the claim. We heard the application on that basis.

This is the first claim in the Administrative Court of which we are aware in which submissions have been made in the Welsh language, most documents and all of the written submissions being lodged in Welsh, and Counsel using Welsh or English as they chose during the course of the hearing, at which Gwion Lewis appeared for the Claimant and Emyr Jones for the Defendant. We are grateful for their clear and thorough, but focused, contributions.

The Law

NS&I is a state-owned savings bank established under the National Savings Bank Act 1971 , as successor to the Post Office Savings Bank. It enables individual savers to lend money to the UK Government in return for interest, returns based on the stock market or prizes, and a capital guarantee. It has more than £100 billion invested by over 25m customers, 1.5m of whom live in Wales. It operates as a non-governmental Executive Agency of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, autonomous in day-to-day management and formally independent of (but ultimately accountable to) HM Treasury. It employs about 140 members of staff at its headquarters in London, but has no physical presence in Wales.

The office of the Commissioner was created by the Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011 (2011 nawm 1) (“the Measure”), legislation passed by the National Assembly for Wales (“the Assembly”) on 7 December 2010 and approved by Her Majesty in Council on 9 February 2011. Whilst not affecting the status of the English language ( section 1(4) ), the Measure grants the Welsh language official status in Wales ( section 1(1) ); and, without prejudice to that general principle, gives effect to that status by requ