Welsh Government renews drive towards one million Welsh speakers

Nation.Cymru staff

The Welsh Government has unveiled a series of measures aimed at increasing the number of Welsh speakers, including an overhaul of Welsh-medium education, extending Welsh language standards and strengthening protections for Welsh-speaking communities.

Speaking in the Senedd, Cabinet Secretary for Education and the Welsh Language Anna Brychan said the government wanted to build a stronger future for Welsh by creating a seamless Welsh-medium education pathway from the early years through to post-16 education.

Central to the plans is the implementation of the Welsh Language and Education Act, which ministers say will ensure 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 will be used to develop a national framework intended to help meet the Welsh Government’s target of ensuring half of children begin their education through the medium of Welsh by 2050.

The Welsh language will also form part of the government’s planned expansion of funded childcare, with ministers saying the new offer of 20 hours a week for children aged between nine months and four years will support Welsh-medium provision.

Ministers also intend to expand Welsh-medium opportunities for post-16 learners, enabling more young people to continue studying and working through the language.

Beyond education, the Welsh Government said it had begun work with local authorities to identify communities with higher proportions of Welsh speakers, with the aim of strengthening the language in those areas.

The government said it was also exploring further legislative and non-legislative measures to support Welsh-speaking communities, while continuing work in areas where fewer people currently speak Welsh.

The plans include extending Welsh language standards to additional sectors, including UK Government bodies operating in Wales.

The Cabinet Secretary also said she would write to major technology companies to encourage greater support for the Welsh language in digital services, while work is continuing to standardise Welsh place names and explore whether they should receive legal protection.

Anna Brychan told Senedd members: “People from all parts of Wales are proud of our language and want to see it thrive.

“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.”

‘Promising’

The plans received a cautious welcome from language campaign group Cymdeithas yr Iaith.

Vice-chair of campaigns Sian Howys said it was “a promising initial statement” and welcomed the focus on Welsh-medium education, Welsh-speaking communities and expanding the language’s use across Wales.

However, she urged ministers to move quickly, arguing that the government already had powers to extend Welsh language rights in parts of the private sector and should now use them.

She said the government’s commitments needed to be matched by clear action to protect Welsh-speaking communities and deliver on its wider ambition of reaching one million Welsh speakers.