Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Well, I think we're all getting very excited, aren't we, about the world cup? This is a huge opportunity, I think, for us as a Welsh nation to really publicise ourselves on the world stage. I know that already we've sent a food and drinks mission out and there's already been a response and we've got some contracts already as a result of that. We do have a trade mission. We have 17 companies...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Thank you very much. I do believe that we have taken positive steps. I believe the WESPs transformed the way in which local government look at its own provision. The fact that we are expanding and enhancing the planning time that local authorities must apply—. This consultation took place over the summer. We are collaborating very closely with local authorities to ensure that they are...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Thank you very much. We recognise that this is an area that we need to give attention to and that’s why we have now set a target for 50 per cent of those who have Welsh as a GCSE in first language, that 50 per cent of the course that they are following, particularly in some sectors—. We’re starting off with the health sector, the care sector, the early years, and public services. So,...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Thank you for that question. Of course, we are concerned as a Government about what is happening in the Ystalyfera area and the Ysgol Ystalyfera Bro Dur area, and we are glad that Neath Port Talbot local authority have deferred the decision. Naturally, we are looking at this matter, and, of course, local government is under financial pressure. We understand that, but what we don’t want to...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Thank you, David. Your Welsh is excellent and I would like to hear you speaking more of it, please. We are taking steps in a number of areas in order to reach a million speakers. This includes steps to increase the number of speakers, the number of people who use Welsh every day, and to create the infrastructure and context to enable that to happen.
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Well, what I can say is that detailed language planning is now ongoing within Welsh Government, and the Permanent Secretary will announce the future steps and what the plan is to attain the target in 2050, and what our responsibilities will be within Welsh Government in order to attain the target. This is a question for the Permanent Secretary, and I would assume that the answer is that if...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: I think it's important that we recognise that we do have an ambition to create a million speakers in Wales and that actually part of that means that we also have to be a part of that transformation project that's going on. At the moment, the number of Welsh speakers in the Welsh Government is around 22 per cent, which is reflective of the demographic population, but there has been an increase...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: The Welsh Government has specified Welsh language skills in job advertisements for a number of years and I can confirm that there has been a small increase in the number of staff who speak Welsh since the Welsh language standards became applicable.
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Well, I do not accept that. I do think that the values that we have in Wales shine through clearly in the strategy. What we must acknowledge is that it’s difficult for us to write a strategy at the moment, because how can you do that when Brexit is hanging over us? One of the things that I was eager to do was to draw attention to our strengths. Lots of places throughout the world do...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: I do believe that we do much more than that as regards promoting the Welsh language. We’ve already been in the United Nations, giving a lead in the field of minority languages. And we’re going to hold a special conference in Aberystwyth in November to celebrate the UNESCO international festival on minority languages. There is an event in the Senedd this evening, where we will be bringing...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: It is important that we ensure that our principles and our values are seen throughout the world. I do think it’s important that, together with that strategy, it also states clearly that cyber security is one of the main issues where people understand that Wales has expertise in this field. It’s important for us to highlight that. And it is difficult—. Because there is a close...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Thank you very much, and may I thank you for posing that question in Welsh? Of course, we do set targets for local government. My officials have been busy over the summer holding discussions with the officers in some of the local authorities, including Bridgend, and, of course, what we’re trying to do is ensure that we lead the demand and not just react to the demand. In Bridgend, we hope...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: When local authorities are developing their Welsh in education strategic plans, they do have to be cognisant of the transport issues in relation to how those children get to school. There is, of course, a statutory requirement for them to provide that to Welsh-speaking schools under the age of 16. There is an issue for those over 18, and this is where the issue comes in, because it is not a...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Well, we are spending quite a lot of time at present trying to ensure that we improve the situation. I have had another meeting this morning with the Minister responsible for education, and both of us have written to the Minister with responsibility for transport, and so there is an effort being made to ensure that we are able to come to a different place as regards this problem. There will...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Thank you very much. Young people are at the heart of Cymraeg 2050. We’re working with schools and FE colleagues to increase opportunities for young people to use Welsh. Of course, we've also expanded the role of the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol, but we also acknowledge that there is a need for us to do more.
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: We are committed to building on Wales’s recent success in hosting major sporting and cultural events as well as developing home-grown events. In terms of major sports events, we work with partners in Wales, the UK and internationally to identify and pursue opportunities for attracting events to all of Wales.
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: The Welsh Government’s draft strategy has been developed in consultation with key partners and stakeholders working in the international space. This engagement has taken place over the past six months and included a social media campaign. The draft is currently out for public consultation and closes on 23 October.
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: The Welsh Government is proud to promoting Wales as a bilingual nation, and we are taking advantage of the International Year of Indigenous Languages to give the language a new platform on an international stage. This is an important element of our draft international strategy, currently being consulted upon.
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: There is a clear demand for a refocused, strategic document communicating our approach to engagement with the rest of the world. I published a draft strategy for consultation in July and this will close on 23 October. Once the consultation closes, I intend to publish a final document in November.
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Thank you very much, Deputy Presiding Officer. I want to welcome the opportunity to have a debate on the Welsh language, and could I say how pleased I am to note the cross-party support for the 2050 strategy? Two years have passed since the 2050 strategy was launched, and a lot of good work has already been done, and I think that people are aware that this is an ambitious strategy and a...