Commissioner for Older People (Wales) Bill [HL]

As we have heard, this amendment would enable the Assembly to make regulations that may include provisions,"““as to the desirability of the Commissioner being able to speak Welsh””." The Commissioner, once appointed, will be subject to the Welsh Language Act 1993. He, as my noble friend Lord Prys-Davies has just reminded us, will have a duty to prepare a Welsh language scheme. The scheme will specify the measures he or she proposes to take regarding the use of the Welsh language in connection with the services he or she provides. As part of those measures, the commissioner will need to make provision in the general staffing of his office for meeting the absolute requirements of the Act. The view of the Assembly—and I am delighted that the noble Lord, Lord Roberts of Conwy, agrees with this—with which the Government concur, is that that is the appropriate level at which to set this requirement. Including the proposed provision in regulations, specifically in relation to the commissioner rather than to his office in general, would restrict the flexibility available when appointing the commissioner and may well affect adversely the strength of the field of candidates. The Assembly Government do not consider such a provision to be necessary in the context of the Welsh Language Act. The noble Lord, Lord Roberts, asked what sort of person will be appointed as commissioner and whether he himself or she herself should be an older person. The Assembly Government have indicated that they would expect that the person appointed as commissioner would be able to demonstrate a real understanding of what life is like for older people and that he or she can empathise with them. It would not be appropriate, however, to restrict the field of candidates to those over a certain age. Following the coming into force of the age discrimination regulations in 2006, it could also be highly illegal. I have absolutely no intention of commenting on where the office should be sited. That is entirely a matter for my friends and colleagues in the Assembly.