Public commemoration in Wales: guidance for public bodies

This consultation is seeking your views on the draft of Public commemoration in Wales: guidance for public bodies.

This is best practice guidance for local authorities, town and community councils and other public bodies, intended to help them reach well informed decisions about existing and future public commemorations.

The guidance is in two parts:  

Part 1 introduces the issues around public commemoration and its impact.

Part 2 sets out four steps that public bodies should take in order to address these issues and realise the contribution of public commemoration to the achievement of an anti-racist Wales.

These four steps are:

1. Establishing a framework for inclusive decision making
2. Setting clear objectives for public commemoration
3. Establishing criteria for decision making
4. Taking action to meet objectives and address issues raised by public commemoration.

The guidance follows on from The Slave Trade and the British Empire: an audit of commemoration in Wales, first published in November 2020.  It also supports the Welsh Government’s Anti-racist Wales Action Plan, which charges public bodies with responsibility for ‘setting the right historic narrative, promoting and delivering a balanced, authentic and decolonised account of the past’. The action plan also includes a specific action to ‘review and appropriately address the way in which people and events with known historical associations to slavery and colonialism are commemorated in our public spaces and collections, acknowledging the harm done by their actions and reframing the presentation of their legacy to fully recognise this.’

The guidance acknowledges that Wales is a diverse society, but that many of its characteristics are barely visible in public commemorations, which may not reflect contemporary values. In setting objectives for commemoration, there is an opportunity to address under-representation and respond to changing values, as well as deepening understanding of historical issues and events.

Q1: Thinking about the guidance text as a whole, do you think it will be useful to public bodies with responsibility for commemorations?

• Yes
• No
• Partly
• Don't know

Please add any comments you would like to make on the overall document:

Q2: One goal of Wales’ Anti-Racist Wales Action Plan is to deliver a balanced, authentic and decolonized account of the past. Do you think that the guidance document contributes towards this?

• Yes
• No
• Partly
• Don't know

Are any changes needed to the guidance document to help achieve this goal?

Q3: Part 1 of the document introduces the complex issues around public commemoration. Its focus is on the impact of commemorations on communities through subject matter, type, style and location. Does it offer an adequate summary of the issues public bodies should be aware of in making decisions on commemorations?

• Yes
• No
• Partly
• Don't know

What changes, if any, do you think should be made to this section?

Q4: Step 1 of the guidance concerns inclusive decision making. It identifies some general principles for inclusive decision-making:
Do you agree with these principles?

• Yes
• No
• Partly
• Don't know

Please explain where you consider there to be gaps or omissions:

Q5: Step 2 of the guidance proposes setting objectives for public commemoration in line with the Anti-Racist Wales Action Plan: what other opportunities are there to use public commemoration positively?

Q6: Are the criteria for use in decision-making suggested in step 3 of the Guidance helpful?

• Yes
• No
• Partly
• Don't know

Please tell us what changes, if any, would you like to see in this section of the guidance:

Q7: Step 4 of the guidance is about taking action to meet objectives and address the issues raised by public commemoration.
Does this section adequately cover the options open to public bodies?

• Yes
• No
• Partly
• Don't know

What changes if, any, would you make to this section? Are there any important options available to public bodies not covered sufficiently here?

Q8: Do you think the case studies included in the guidance are helpful in illustrating the issues and range of options available to public bodies?

• Yes
• No
• Partly
• Don't know

Please suggest any changes you would like to see to these:

Q9: We would like to know your views on the effects that the draft guidance would have on the Welsh language, specifically on opportunities for people to use Welsh and on treating the Welsh language no less favourably than English.

What effects do you think there would be? How could positive effects be increased, or negative effects be mitigated?

Q10: Please also explain how you believe the proposed guidance could be changed so as to have positive effects or increased positive effects on opportunities for people to use the Welsh language and on treating the Welsh language no less favourably than the English language, and no adverse effects on opportunities for people to use the Welsh language and on treating the Welsh language no less favourably than the English language.

You can submit your response by midnight on 21 February 2023, in any of the following ways:

• complete our online form
• download, complete our consultation response form and email it to: commemorationguidance@gov.wales. Please include the reference number WG46145 in the subject of your email
• download, complete our consultation response form and post to the address stated below.

Cadw
Welsh Government
Ty’r Afon
Bedwas Road
Caerphilly
CF83 8WT

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In order to show that the consultation was carried out properly, the Welsh Government intends to publish a summary of the responses to this document. We may also publish responses in full. Normally, the name and address (or part of the address) of the person or organisation who sent the response are published with the response. If you do not want your name or address published, please tell us this in writing when you send your response. We will then redact them before publishing.

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Data Protection Officer

Data Protection Officer
Welsh Government
Cathays Park
Cardiff
CF10 3NQ

E-mail: data.protectionofficer@gov.wales

Information Commissioner’s Office

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Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF

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Website: ico.org.uk

Number: WG45529

For further information:

Cadw
Welsh Government
Ty’r Afon
Bedwas Road
Caerphilly
CF83 8WT

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