Thank you, Presiding Officer. I am pleased to have the opportunity today to make a statement about my plans and my priorities for the Welsh language policy area over the coming year.

As someone who has always campaigned for several years for a prosperous future for the Welsh language, I am very pleased to be leading on the Welsh language portfolio on behalf of the Welsh Government. I am fortunate to be leading on this portfolio at an exciting time in the history of the language. There are challenges ahead, but we can undoubtedly face those challenges in the knowledge that we are building from a position of strength.

So, when we consider the next steps for the Government, it is important that we celebrate what has been achieved to date. It is also timely to record our thanks to the Football Association of Wales and the national team for putting Wales and the Welsh language on the map during their hugely successful Euro 2016 campaign. Seeing large multinational companies and the British media using the Welsh language in their marketing campaigns is a huge fillip to our confidence as a bilingual nation. We will be looking at ways of taking advantage of this new interest in the Welsh language over the coming months.

Our task now is to set a new ambition that builds on the foundations that we have and to take large steps forward. Our manifesto sets an ambition to reach a million Welsh speakers by 2050. That will not be an easy task, but I believe that it is important that we focus our minds on what we are trying to achieve. It’s our responsibility as Government to set direction, but it is also essential that we all as a nation take ownership of the challenge.

As such, one of the first things I intend to do this year as Minister is to consult on our long- term vision. The Government’s current five-year strategy for the Welsh language expires at the end of March, so I'm looking forward to conducting a wide-ranging debate over the next few months in all parts of the country. My intention is to publish a consultation paper at the Eisteddfod over the coming weeks.

Whilst looking to the future, we must also focus on the present. I am committed to continuing to make further standards regulations for other sectors that come under the Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011 over the next year. I am also issuing a written statement today that will provide an update on Welsh language standards.

In his statement at the beginning of this Assembly, the First Minister said that the Welsh Government will seek to amend the Welsh language Measure. The Measure was passed at a time when the devolution settlement was different, so it is timely for us to review the Measure and that work will start during this year. It’s too early at present to set out the details of what will be in the new Bill, but I’m keen to look again at the Measure to ensure that the legislative basis for the Welsh language is appropriate, up to date and makes the process for imposing standards less bureaucratic.

I am also keen to revisit the process of planning for Welsh-medium education. My officials have already been in discussion with local authorities in order to refine the guidance on the preparation of Welsh in Education strategic plans for the next three years. The aim in this respect is to ensure that these plans result in concrete and timely action in a way that leads to growth in Welsh-medium education. I’m also committed to implementing the priorities for Welsh language education published in a statement in March this year. Work has already commenced on designing a new curriculum for Wales that will include one continuum of learning for the Welsh language.

Parents have a key role to play in the development of the next generation of Welsh speakers. Cymraeg i Blant commenced in April this year to encourage and support parents and prospective parents to use the Welsh language with their children. We will ensure that parents receive information about the benefits of Welsh-medium education at key points throughout the journey of bringing up a child.

I'm looking forward to seeing the National Centre for Learning Welsh officially launched in August. Last week, I attended the Welsh for adults tutors’ conference, and it is clear to me that there is a commitment from the sector to move forward and contribute to an overall plan of creating fluent and confident Welsh speakers.

In addition to ensuring that appropriate structures are in place for planning education, it is also essential that we support our most important resource, namely our people—those Welsh speakers across the country. We need to continue to support people to use the language in practical, creative and fun ways. It was a privilege for me to open Tŷ’r Gwrhyd Welsh language centre in Pontardawe last week. Tŷ’r Gwrthyd will be an excellent space to bring Welsh speakers of all ages together to use the language socially.

Llywydd, projects supporting and encouraging the use of Welsh amongst children and young people are a priority. We will also work during the next year to develop the Welsh charter across Wales, which has the aim of supporting and encouraging informal use of Welsh amongst children and young people. We will also work with young people and businesses to emphasise the importance of Welsh as a skill in the workplace. But most importantly, we want Welsh to be contemporary and relevant to the younger generation, and using, for instance, music, technology or sport to raise its profile and engender a sense of pride in the language will remain central to our promotion work.

During the next year, we will also work with our partners to help the private sector to incorporate more bilingualism in their services and businesses. As I’ve already mentioned, the excitement surrounding the national football team has given us a new opportunity to prove the value of the Welsh language in marketing, and this represents a golden opportunity for us to take advantage of.

Llywydd, these are my priorities for the year. I am confident that there is support across the Assembly to ensure a strong future for the Welsh language, and ensure that we can all commit to taking decisions in this place that will be consistent with achieving that aim. Thank you.