Early day motion tabled by primary sponsor Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru), on Thursday, 7 March 2024, in the House of Commons. It is signed by 7 members in total.

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OVO Energy’s decision to stop correspondence in Welsh

That this House expresses its significant disappointment in relation to OVO Energy’s decision to stop providing correspondence in Welsh to its customers in Wales, and criticises the instruction for Welsh speakers in Wales to instead use Google Translate to read the contents of English correspondence in the Welsh language; acknowledges that access to energy is a life essential, and Welsh speakers have recently lost another essential provision following the decision of HSBC to close its Welsh language telephone service, further dismissing the needs and requirements of people in Wales; notes that services in Welsh is a right provided by the Welsh Language Act 1993 and the Welsh Language Measure 2011, aiming to ensure the Welsh language is not treated less favourably than English in Wales; further notes that the Welsh Language Commissioner has previously published a standards report to consider bringing energy companies under statutory Welsh language standards regulations, which is commended; highlights the response provided by OVO Energy which apologises only for any inconvenience caused by its decision, and which underlines a significant lack of cultural and linguistic understanding; and calls on OVO Energy to urgently reverse this decision, and ensure it realises its responsibilities and duties with respect to Welsh speaking customers in Wales.

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Secondary information

Type

Early day motion

Reference

487 

Session

2023-24

Other sponsors

John McDonnell

Jonathan Edwards

Liz Saville Roberts

Alison Thewliss

Ben Lake

Subjects

Correspondence Welsh language OVO Energy

Link

View this Early day motion on edm.parliament.uk