Welsh Government renews drive towards one million Welsh speakers

Nation.Cymru staff

The Welsh Government is hoping to secure a stronger future for the Welsh language, the Cabinet Minister for Education and the Welsh Language told the Senedd today.

From the early years through to post-16 education, the Welsh Government will build an integrated Welsh-medium pathway across the education system.

The Welsh Language and Education Act will be fully implemented to ensure that every child has a fair opportunity to become an independent and confident Welsh speaker.

An urgent review of Welsh in Education Strategic Plans is already under way. The findings of the review will inform a national framework to ensure that half of Wales’s children begin their journey in Welsh-medium education by 2050.

The Welsh language will be a central part of the transformational childcare offer of 20 hours of funded childcare per week for every child aged between nine months and four years.

Welsh-medium opportunities for post-16 learners will also be expanded, enabling more young people to continue learning, working and living through the medium of Welsh.

Work has already begun to work  in partnership with local authorities to determine how communities with a higher density of Welsh speakers should be designated  to help strengthen the use of the language within those communities.

At the same time, urgent action is being taken through the use of existing powers, and work is under way to explore all the legislative and non-legislative measures required to support their long-term sustainability.

The Welsh language must also thrive in parts of Wales where there is currently a medium or lower density of speakers. Work is taking place across government in response to the second phase of the Commission for Welsh Communities.

The whole Cabinet has a responsibility for the Welsh language. From housing and health to transport, the economy, housing and local government, to culture and sport, every portfolio has a role to play in achieving the target of one million Welsh speakers.

Infrastructure 

The Cabinet Minister also outlined measures to strengthen the infrastructure that supports the Welsh language. Welsh language standards will be extended to new sectors, including UK Government bodies.

The Cabinet Minister is also writing to big technology companies to ensure that digital developments support the Welsh language. Work is also taking place to standardise and record Welsh place-names, while options for protecting them through legislation are being explored.

The Cabinet Minister for Education and the Welsh Language, Anna Brychan, said: “People from all parts of Wales are proud of our language and want to see it thrive. Cymraeg belongs to us all, and we should move away from seeing ourselves as ‘Welsh-speaking’ and ‘non-Welsh-speaking’ Welsh people. We are all somewhere on the same journey – and we all belong.

“The existing goodwill and ambition provide us with a strong foundation, but the challenges are real and the coming years will be critical. Our focus now is on turning ambition into action and securing the strongest possible future for the Welsh language in our schools, our communities and our workplaces. We have already started this work within our first 100 days.

“The future of the Welsh language depends on people as well as policy. I encourage everyone to use whatever Welsh they have, to support one another in learning and using the language, and to play their part in building a Wales where the Welsh language belongs to us all.”