We’ll move on to item 4 on the agenda, which is a statement by the Minister for Lifelong Learning and Welsh Language: Welsh in education strategic plans—the way forward. And I call Alun Davies, as Minister, to speak to the statement. Alun Davies.

Thank you very much, Deputy Presiding Officer. May I begin by placing on record my thanks to local authorities for their work on the 2017-20 Welsh in education strategic plans? Some plans show an ownership and commitment to the Welsh language, and I welcome this. However, there are others who need to demonstrate a greater level of responsibility for the growth of Welsh-medium education, because the level of ambition I had hoped for is not as evident as I had expected. By now, you will all be aware that we are on the threshold of launching a new strategy that aims to secure a million Welsh speakers by 2050, and that we, as elected Members and citizens of Wales, can’t achieve this in isolation. We want everyone in Wales to come on this journey with us.

The Llywydd took the Chair.

We acknowledge that education is the main vehicle for creating Welsh speakers. We already know that there are just under 9,000 five-year-olds attending a Welsh-medium or bilingual school. We cannot afford to be content with this. Wales needs an inclusive education system that both sustains and creates Welsh speakers. By creating demand for Welsh-medium education and ensuring access in those all-important early years before statutory education, and through reviewing the sufficiency of Welsh-medium places, we must seize these opportunities to strengthen and grow the infrastructure of Welsh-medium education. I believe strongly that collaboration in a positive way between the Welsh Government and local authorities is the only way forward. That’s why I want this partnership to be stronger and to develop further, so that these plans will work better, thereby reflecting the need to secure and grow the offer. The legal framework has served us well by securing statutory status for the planning of Welsh-medium education. We are now in a new period. So, to prepare for the next phase of plans, I will be asking my officials to look again at the legislation in more detail.

It’s time now for decisive action. That’s why Aled Roberts has been appointed to conduct a rapid review of the current system for Welsh language education planning. This will include the 2017 to 2020 plans—the current plans. Aled will, of course, bring his considerable experience and keen eye for scrutiny to this role. He is a former local authority leader, a school governor and, of course, a former Member here for the Welsh Liberal Democrats in north Wales. Aled has the background and experience needed to get to the root cause of why Welsh language planning is not as effective as we need it to be. Aled will provide a set of recommendations to take the Welsh in education strategic plans forward. These recommendations must give me a clear direction of travel for change. A collaborative approach between Welsh Government and local authorities during this phase will be essential for a successful outcome. I will ask all local authorities across Wales to contribute to this review.

This rapid review will be the first phase of implementing change. I can’t foresee what the outcome of the review will be, but any development work in future must include those who deliver education on the ground: teachers, governors, headteachers and support staff—those who have such a significant part to play in achieving a million Welsh speakers. My officials will be in touch with all local authorities regarding the timescales of this review and when we will be providing feedback on their plans. The actions we take now will influence the Welsh speakers of the future. We want the Welsh language to be the language of choice within our communities. Whoever is standing here in my shoes in 2050, I want to ensure that he or she looks back at this time as a period of change, and the catalyst that really made a difference to the language and its speakers.

In my first statement to you as Minister, I said that I wanted to ensure that the plans would result in concrete and timely action in a way that leads to growth in Welsh-medium education. We have moved forward, but it’s not enough. We still need to do more. In that same statement, I referred to the importance of the new curriculum for Wales, which will include one continuum of learning for the Welsh language. This will provide many opportunities for those pupils in the education system, as well as the pupils of the future. I therefore want plans to better reflect the uniqueness and diversity of Wales, so that we celebrate these differences and allow the plans to demonstrate the individual and unique nature of our localities and regions. In partnership with local authorities and other key stakeholders, Presiding Officer, we will make these plans work for Wales.

Thank you for your statement, Minister.

Rwy'n falch iawn eich bod wedi cyflwyno’r datganiad hwn heddiw, oherwydd byddwch chi’n gwybod cystal â minnau bod Comisiynydd y Gymraeg, Rhieni dros Addysg Gymraeg, Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg a llawer iawn o rai eraill—corws o leisiau, mewn gwirionedd—wedi mynegi eu pryderon am ansawdd a diffyg uchelgais cynlluniau strategol y Gymraeg mewn addysg sydd wedi cael eu llunio gan awdurdodau lleol ar draws y wlad.

Rydym yn gwybod ein bod yn wynebu brwydr anodd. Gwelsom nifer y siaradwyr Cymraeg yng Nghymru yn gostwng rhwng cyfrifiad 2001 a chyfrifiad 2011, ac nid oes gennym ddigon o bobl ifanc mewn addysg cyfrwng Cymraeg i wrthdroi’r sefyllfa honno a chyflawni’r targed uchelgeisiol hwn—ac mae'n darged gwych yr ydym yn eich cefnogi gydag ef, Weinidog—sef cael miliwn o siaradwyr Cymraeg yma yng Nghymru. Nid ydym ni byth yn mynd i gyflawni’r targed hwnnw oni bai bod mwy o gamau gweithredu ar y cyd yn cael eu cymryd, gan Lywodraeth Cymru ac awdurdodau lleol a rhanddeiliaid allweddol eraill, er mwyn cynyddu’r niferoedd hynny. Felly, er fy mod i’n croesawu'r ffaith eich bod wedi penodi Aled Roberts i gynnal yr adolygiadau cyflym hyn, rwyf yn meddwl tybed a yw dim ond gofyn i berson annibynnol ddod a bwrw golwg dros y pethau hyn mewn gwirionedd yn mynd i gyflawni o ran maint yr her sydd o'n blaenau.

Er enghraifft, rydym yn gwybod bod arnom angen mwy o leoedd gofal plant ar gyfer plant cyn oed ysgol sydd yn lleoedd cyfrwng Cymraeg, ac eto mae’n ymddangos nad oes unrhyw strategaeth yn cael ei gyflwyno gan y Llywodraeth i gyflawni cynnydd yn y ddarpariaeth honno. Rydym yn gwybod bod gennym broblemau, o ran dilyniant addysg pobl drwy gyfrwng y Gymraeg, o ran sicrhau darpariaeth ôl-16 mewn colegau addysg bellach ac, yn wir, mewn prifysgolion. Nawr, mae rhai camau sydd i’w croesawu yn cael eu cymryd yn y maes hwnnw. Mae gennym yr ehangiad posibl yng nghwmpas y Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol i ystyried addysg bellach, ond mae'n mynd i olygu tipyn o adnoddau er mwyn i ni allu cyflawni hynny. Ond y sialens fwyaf o bell ffordd yw nad oes gennym ddigon o athrawon sy'n siarad Cymraeg yn y gweithlu addysgu, a bu gostyngiad, gostyngiad gwirioneddol, yn y niferoedd sy'n cyrraedd y gweithle. Felly, mae angen strategaeth lawer mwy cydlynol ar yr holl bethau hyn os ydym ni’n mynd i sicrhau bod gennym yr amgylchedd iawn i dyfu nifer y siaradwyr Cymraeg yma yng Nghymru i’r math o lefelau yr ydych chi a minnau yn dymuno eu gweld.

Nawr, rydych chi wedi cyfeirio at benodiad Aled Roberts. Fel y dywedais, rwy’n croesawu ei benodiad. Nid dyna’r unig beth y mae angen i chi ei wneud. Yn amlwg mae angen cymryd camau gweithredu ynghylch y meysydd eraill hyn hefyd. Rydych chi wedi dweud bod yr adolygiad hwn yn mynd i fod yn gyflym. Erbyn pryd ydych chi'n disgwyl y bydd yn gallu adrodd yn ôl? Oherwydd: nid ydym ni byth yn mynd i gyflawni’r targed hwn os ydym ni’n parhau i’w ohirio tan y tu hwnt i'r flwyddyn academaidd nesaf. Felly, a ydych chi’n disgwyl iddo gyflawni’r gwaith ac adolygu'r pethau hyn cyn yr haf, ac yna bod awdurdodau lleol yn cwblhau eu diwygiadau i’w Cynlluniau Strategol y Gymraeg mewn Addysg cyn yr haf? Gallaf weld eich bod yn nodio eich pen, felly byddaf yn edrych ymlaen at gadarnhad o hynny mewn ychydig funudau. A wnewch chi ddweud wrthym pa gamau penodol y mae Llywodraeth Cymru yn eu cymryd—rwy’n sylweddoli bod eich cydweithiwr, Ysgrifennydd y Cabinet dros Addysg, yn yr ystafell yn awr—yn enwedig o ran bwrsariaethau i annog mwy o athrawon cyfrwng Cymraeg i'r gweithle? Oherwydd nid oes gennym system bwrsariaeth sy'n addas ar gyfer Cymru ar hyn o bryd. Nid yw’n ddigon deniadol i gynyddu nifer y siaradwyr Cymraeg sy'n dod i'r gweithlu addysgu, ac rwy’n dymuno gweld pa gamau penodol yr ydych chi’n mynd i’w cymryd i fynd i'r afael â hynny.

Fe wnaethoch gyfeirio at y cwricwlwm newydd. Mae hynny'n rhoi cyfle i ni wneud rhywbeth gwahanol, ond, ochr yn ochr â'r cwricwlwm newydd hwnnw, mae angen i ni weld continwwm yn cael ei ddatblygu er mwyn gallu asesu cynnydd o ran y Gymraeg ochr yn ochr ag un cymhwyster. Roedd hwn yn addewid a wnaed i bobl Cymru—y byddai yna un cymhwyster i asesu cymhwysedd pobl yn y Gymraeg. Nid wyf yn gwybod beth yw’r sefyllfa ynglŷn â hynny, ond byddai o gymorth mawr pe gallech roi'r wybodaeth ddiweddaraf i ni heddiw i weld a oes unrhyw gynnydd wedi'i wneud. Rwy'n cymryd yn ganiataol bod Cymwysterau Cymru yn rhan o’r broses benodol honno.

Yn ychwanegol at hynny, os ydym ni’n mynd i sicrhau bod mwy o rieni yn anfon eu plant i ysgolion cynradd cyfrwng Cymraeg yn arbennig, mae angen iddynt gael cymorth i ddatblygu sgiliau yn y Gymraeg eu hunain. Felly, pam na allwn ni gael mwy o arian yn cael ei fuddsoddi mewn cyrsiau Cymraeg i oedolion? Nid oes digon o gyrsiau ar gael i bobl, ar hyn o bryd. Nid ydyn nhw bob amser ar gael gyda’r nos neu ar benwythnosau pryd y byddai pobl yn awyddus i fanteisio ar y cyfleoedd hyn. Ac, a dweud y gwir, mae angen iddynt fod yn rhad ac am ddim os ydym ni’n mynd i annog y math iawn o amgylchedd i dyfu nifer y siaradwyr Cymraeg yma yng Nghymru. Nid yw hyn yn ymwneud â phobl ifanc yn unig; mae oedolion hefyd sydd eisiau dysgu’r iaith a'r her o ddysgu’r iaith a defnyddio'r iaith yn eu cymunedau lleol. Felly, tybed a wnewch chi ateb y cwestiynau hynny, Weinidog.

I’m grateful to Darren Millar for his kind words. As ever, he’s roamed far and wide, using the statement as a starting point rather than as the purpose of this debate this afternoon. But, let me say this, Darren: there is a lack of ambition in some of those plans, I think you’ve absolutely right in that. The challenges that you’ve laid out in your questions, and the totality of your analysis, is a challenge I accept. I think you’ve outlined many of the key challenges that we have to overcome.

So, let me say this in responding to you: yes, we do need concerted action from both the Welsh Government and from local government. How do we do that? What we don’t do is point fingers and create screaming headlines where we go to war with local government and the rest of it. We don’t do that. What we do is we work together. We work together on the basis of mutual respect and our shared visions and our shared ambitions. That’s what’s at the heart of this.

This is about a mission, if you like. Kirsty Williams has talked about our national mission for education on a number of occasions. This is about a shared vision for the future. It’s Welsh Government and local government working together to deliver on that shared vision. I hope that Aled will be able to report by the early summer and that we will have the WESPs, the strategic plans, in place at that time to enable us to have that framework, if you like, going forward.

And, as we go forward, we will need to meet all of the challenges you’ve outlined, from workforce planning through to Welsh for adults and issues around the new curriculum. All of those are key challenges that I accept and that we do have to meet. The points that have been made about childcare provision are well made. We do need to ensure that the childcare offer that is being developed at the moment—. My colleague, the Minister for Communities and Children, is working on and leading the work on that. Let me say this to Darren: we meet regularly in order to discuss the Welsh language elements of that, together with the Cabinet Secretary for Education and the Minister for Skills and Science, to ensure that we do have that skilled workforce to enable us to meet that challenge. That’s certainly something, again, I accept.

The continuity of education post 16 is also something that I accept. The Member will be aware that Kirsty Williams made a statement at the Eisteddfod last year, setting up a working group with Delyth Evans. We expect that to report by the early summer or mid-summer of this year. That, I hope, will chart an outline, chart a way forward, for the future of post 16, especially the potential expansion of Welsh-medium education in the further education sector. I agree that is the sector that’s absolutely critical to creating the workforce that will enable us to deliver on our ambitions and our plans. And a coherent strategy, which you asked for, is absolutely essential to underpin all of these things.

But what we are debating today, Darren, is the strategic plans from local government. What these have to do is to create the vision that we all, I think—I hope—share for the future. That will lay the basis then. We will understand the numbers of teachers that we will require, we will understand the number of support workers that we will require, we will understand the sort of childcare provision that we will require, where we will need those people, the sorts of skills that we will need them to have, and how we take that forward, not just for 2017 to 2020, which we’re discussing today, but using the plans for 2017 to 2020 in order to build the foundation for the future.

So, I hope I’ve covered most of your questions there. Of course, Welsh for adults was covered by the budget agreement with Plaid Cymru, where we did provide additional funding for Welsh language courses through the national centre for teaching Welsh to adults. But the challenges you’ve laid out are a good way to perhaps describe the sort of challenges that we’ll have to meet as a consequence of these plans and this way of working.

May I thank the Minister for his statement? It is one I welcome, and it does give me greater confidence that the Welsh Government is taking its responsibilities in terms of the growth of Welsh-medium education seriously, and that the Government understands that business as usual is not sufficient, and that that would not meet the aims identified.

You will know that I and other Members have written to you some weeks ago calling on you to reject the majority of these WESPs, because they lack ambition and they lack detail. Very often, they ignore much of the direction of Government. They tend to be descriptive rather than developmental in terms of the growth of Welsh-medium education. We have heard how the Welsh Language Commissioner is clear that the majority of these plans are inadequate. Estyn, too, has called for an assurance that the targets of the plans reflect the ambitions of the strategy more closely and that all local authorities give more strategic import to achieving the targets in their plans. We also recall the report of the Children, Young People and Education Committee of the previous Assembly in December 2015, which was quite damning of these WESPs and their value. So, the fact that we have got to this point today is something that I would welcome, although the fact that we have had to come to this point is a cause of disappointment.

I am pleased that you do recognise that we need to strengthen these plans significantly, but I would appreciate if you could tell us whether you expect there to be changes to the plans of all local authorities. Or do you feel that some of the plans presented are adequate? This is just so that we can understand what your expectations are, and where you are actually placing the bar.

I would also like to welcome the appointment of Aled Roberts as an appropriate person to undertake this role. But again, I would be grateful for a little clarity. It appears to me that there are two roles here—one making recommendations for specific improvements to the individual WESPs that have been presented; and secondly, making recommendations to the wider regime. In that context, I would want to better understand what exactly the remit will be. What specific scope is there? How broad is that remit that you intend him to fulfil? Clearly, the new strategic plans for Welsh in education will be crucial in terms of setting the future pattern. But, in the context of this specific piece of work that you are asking Aled Roberts to undertake, for example, will you expect recommendations around more robust means of measuring demand—something that I believe is deficient at the moment? Also, will you seek suggestions, perhaps, on specific duties in terms of meeting the identified demand? Further to that, your statement mentions generating demand, and I am sure that you would agree that we need to be far more proactive in promoting the benefits of Welsh-medium education and bilingual education.

Are you also looking to ensure that the Welsh Government’s ambition in terms of the growth of Welsh-medium education is more strongly reflected in the requirements of the twenty-first century schools programme, for example? What about transport policies for schools, which can often influence parental decisions in this area? A question was asked on the timetable earlier. Just so I can better understand this: are you strengthening the current plans and then possibly looking at a new regime, post 2020? Or, is it your intention to look at a more fundamental change sooner than that? As I say, I do welcome the statement, but I do feel that we would all benefit from a little more detail on the work that you are asking Aled Roberts to undertake.

Presiding Officer, I would like to start once again by thanking the Plaid Cymru spokesperson for his welcome for today’s statement. I will start by agreeing with your initial analysis that it is important that we acknowledge that this isn’t business as usual and that we do want to change things. I hope that by setting a very ambitious target, such as a million Welsh speakers, we are changing the way that we are working in all parts of our work. In what we are discussing this afternoon, we will be changing every aspect of the different ways of working within the Government and outwith the Government. I am eager, as I tried to say to Darren Millar, that we collaborate with local government, and that we see this as a joint project, a joint initiative—that we see the future in the same way and that we work together to ensure that we do have the plans that we need. So, I don’t want to oppose any plans that we currently have; what I do want to see are plans that we can accept.

You asked a difficult question for me to answer on amendments to all plans; you are tempting me, Llyr. But, I will say this: the ambition in different parts of Wales will be different, and we’re starting from different positions in different regions of our nation. What I want to see is the appropriate ambition for each part of Wales. That will mean that some plans will need to be changed more than others. What I am eager to do is create an atmosphere of collaboration. That’s what I very much hope that Aled will do. As a former leader of Wrexham council, he has experience of running a council, of leading change in local government, and I think it’s important that we do appoint someone with that kind of experience and someone who understands the nature and requirements of Welsh-medium education for the future. The questions that you asked about transport are a part of that. I think that you are entirely right in the way that you’ve described the scope of the role—the initial function is to ensure that we do have Welsh in education strategic plans for the future, and that has to be the first and foremost role. It also has to happen soon, over the coming months.

I have said in response to previous questions that I want to see, perhaps, a different legislative framework for the future. The White Paper on local government, published by Mark Drakeford, anticipated changes in the way that we plan Welsh-medium education for the future. That’s something that I do want to consider, because I do think that we have to change the way in which we think about this and whether we need change. We have a White Paper in the pipeline for the Welsh language, and perhaps that will be an opportunity for us to discuss these matters in greater detail. Certainly, I do see the second aspect of this role as being one of considering more broadly the planning and provision of Welsh-medium education for the future. Measuring demand will perhaps be a part of that, and I am open to that being another aspect of the role.

I also hope that we will have a new framework after this period, after 2020. That period and new framework, post 2020, will be for the provision, planning and development of Welsh-medium education across Wales.

Can I welcome the statement and the appointment of Aled Roberts to his important new role? I’d like to commend the Minister for his common sense and realistic approach that he brings to this important task, in particular what he’s just said in response to Llyr Gruffydd about tailoring our policy according to the area or region of Wales, and the different needs that we have in order to achieve our objective of 1 million Welsh speakers, depending upon the degree of Welsh language penetration that an area already has.

I’m sure that the Minister has read with some care the response of Rhieni dros Addysg Gymraeg to the WESPs, which I think is an extremely interesting and informative document, and actually quite impressive. There are a number of very important points that are made in there that I think are important to dwell on, in particular, the importance of nursery and reception classes in creating, as the statement says, a demand for Welsh-medium education. The statement doesn’t mention Mudiad Meithrin, for example, who’ve given evidence to the Welsh language committee, and which I think was extremely interesting in itself. It does seem to me, as a strong supporter of the Government’s policy, that this is an absolutely vital element before anything else; the younger that children are introduced to the Welsh language, then, of course, the much more successful this policy is going to be.

I would also like to support what Llyr has just said in relation to measurement of demand. In this document by Rhieni dros Addysg Gymraeg, they refer to the case of Torfaen, where it says—if I can find the paragraph, it’s worth referring to—that some councils have conducted a survey to measure demand recently, for example Torfaen, which shows that over 22 per cent of parents are eager to choose Welsh-medium education, but the county decided not to include this information in the plan, choosing to submit a plan that will stick to the existing provision, which is about 15 per cent. That, I believe, is one of the areas in which we can make some significant advances towards the achievement of our common objective.

The other thing that I would like to say, in the light of recent controversy that has arisen over the school in Llangennech, is how important it is for us to bring parents along with us in this policy. Because if the steamroller approach is adopted and confrontation is created then it’s going to be much more difficult for us to move on from where we are now to where we want to be in 30 years’ time. Because there are significant parts of Wales where there is very little Welsh spoken as a first language and it would be much more difficult to persuade those English-speaking monoglot parents that this is the way that Wales should go in the future. I would like to see a fully bilingual nation within my lifetime, and it is important, therefore, that we carry people with us. I wish that the Minister might say something about this today, because I think we all have to be evangelists for the Welsh language, but if we take too dictatorial an approach—well, if a local authority takes too dictatorial an approach—then it’s going to create resentment, which is actually going to do the opposite of what we need to do in order to make the Government’s policy successful.

I’m grateful for those remarks, and if I might start where you finished, I think the measure of our success will be the silence in the media, in many ways. I hope that we will be able to move forward and deliver a policy that is done not through confrontation and not through a steamroller, but through persuasion, through support, through promotion and through conversation with people. I sense a great well of goodwill towards the Welsh language across all the different communities of Wales. I represent a community and communities where very little Welsh is spoken in Blaenau Gwent. But I know that there are very many parents who wish that they could speak the language themselves and who want their children to either speak the language, or have a familiarity with the language.

What we, I hope, will be able to do as a Government, is to work with that goodwill to ensure that people feel comfortable with what we are proposing and to work with the grain of communities across the country. And that means that our expectations in different places will be different and our anticipations and our ambitions will be different in different parts of the country. But what, I hope, will not be different is our determination to create the bilingual country that you have described. And in doing so, I hope that these plans will put in place both the option to have Welsh-medium education across the face of Wales and to ensure that people feel able and comfortable to take that option for their children, and that that option is available with all the resources and facilities that were described earlier by Darren Millar.

So, we’re working, I hope, in a way that is constructive, which puts common sense ahead of ideology and ensures that people across Wales will have the option of Welsh-medium education for their children without the difficulties of having to transport their children many, many miles to receive that education, whilst worrying about the sort of education that they will receive—to ensure that Welsh-medium education is seen to be a choice that is made by parents increasingly in the future. I would certainly hope that the plans that we can put in place will put in place a structure that will see many, many more young people being able to learn Welsh, leaving school fluent in Welsh and being confident about using their Welsh throughout their lives.

The points that you made about Mudiad Meithrin and Rhieni dros Addysg Gymraeg are points that I accept. The points about nursery and reception classes in education are points that I accept, and the issues you’ve raised about measuring demand, which was raised also by Llyr Gruffydd, are points that I accept. So, I hope that, in taking forward this policy, we will be able to do so together with communities across Wales, and not against communities throughout Wales.

May I welcome the Minister’s statement? He will know that I was one of the joint signatories to the letter to him asking him not to settle for unambitious plans. So, I am pleased to hear such a clear statement today on the issue of ambition.

May I ask two questions of you? The first is on the relationship between this process and the process of introducing the new strategy. This process will commence now, I suppose, before the new strategy is introduced. What will happen when the new strategy is published? It may be that a sense of urgency emerges from the detail of that strategy that will have an impact on this process. That’s the first question. The second question is: you’ve mentioned how important it is to collaborate between the Welsh Government and local government. Do you also see this process as an opportunity to introduce a new impetus to sharing best practice between local authorities, because we do understand how important that is in terms of understanding what’s happened and worked elsewhere and to appreciate the scale of the challenge facing us?

You were right, in writing that letter, that some of the plans lacked ambition. What I have tried to do this afternoon is try to respond to that in a positive way, and not by overreacting, if you like, but to respond in a way that affirms our ambition and our vision for the future, and to ensure that we achieve our ambition through joint working. I very much hope that we will be able to do that.

This process will continue and the strategy will come as part—well, this process will be part of the strategy, of course. When we publish the strategy in the summer, you will see that there are several elements to the strategy. The WESPs have to be an important component of the education strategy, and the education strategy will fit into a wider framework and strategy, if you like. So, there will be a strategy that is more holistic for the future, but these education plans will be a crucial part of it.

I very much hope that we can publish plans that will have the ambition that you say that you want to see, and I agree that we do need to see that ambition, and that will then be an important part of the strategy for the future. And I very much hope, as we collaborate, that we can share best practice and ensure that we learn lessons as well. There has been some mention made about how we can measure demand for Welsh-medium education. That’s an example, perhaps, of where councils can collaborate to learn from each other to ensure that we don’t just share the same ambition, but that we share different ways of achieving that ambition. My emphasis this afternoon is on ensuring that the process over the next few months is a positive process, where we collaborate to reach the aim that we all agree we want to reach.

May I welcome this statement, too? By now, of course, the detail of all schemes is what’s important now, not the existence of a statutory framework, and I do hope that the review will be valuable. We’re not talking here about Welsh in education strategic plans in isolation, of course, We are talking about Welsh in education plans. Will the review consider the growth of the Welsh language used occasionally as the first part of the continuum as part of the curriculum in English-medium schools and any work placements they arrange for pupils? Given your comments on childcare, which you have mentioned already, will you be asking the review to consider the value of having Welsh speakers in the front line in all Flying Start locations?

This review and this process will consider the Welsh-medium education plans. That’s the purpose and the point of the WESPs, and we will be considering how we can expand Welsh-medium education over the coming years. This will be an important foundation for how we create more Welsh speakers for the future. But it will also enable people to learn Welsh early on in their life, and the hope is that the Welsh language will remain with them, so that they have the opportunity to study through the medium of Welsh at school, post 16, and then, if they choose to do so, in the workplace after that. I very much hope that that will then reflect on the remainder of the education system, in that there will be more room for the Welsh language throughout the education system, to ensure that young people, when they leave school, when they’re 16, and wherever they’ve been to school—an English-medium or Welsh-medium school—are able to use and speak the Welsh language. Because that’s what we need to do if we want to create this bilingual Wales.

May I welcome the Minister’s statement this afternoon and the fact that he’s taking a fresh look at the WESPs, and wish Aled Roberts well in his work? I hope that he hasn’t been handed a hospital pass by the Minister, and I say that for one reason, namely that his predecessor, Leighton Andrews, when he was discussing these issues in the last Assembly, always talked about the possibility of turning the strategic plans into statutory plans, unless the local authorities worked with Government. The Minister didn’t mention that during his statement this afternoon, and I would ask him, therefore: is it still an option for Government to make these WESPs statutory plans if the councils do not collaborate?

Now, the Minister has mentioned collaboration with councils as a way forward, and I very much hope that that is successful. But I would like to return to the issue of Llangennech school as an example, and to return to the case of the BBC earlier on, of how not to do these things, but that wasn’t from the point of view of the local council. The Welsh in education strategic plan for Carmarthenshire specifically mentioned that the council was working closely with staff and governing bodies in dual-stream schools in Carmarthenshire in order to turn them into Welsh-medium schools. That was the objective of the WESP. That was accepted unanimously by the cabinet in Carmarthenshire back in July of 2014, when the council was, of course, led by the Labour Party. In the light of that, governors at the schools in Llangennech—the infant and junior schools—approved it, the community council supported the proposal, the council scrutiny committee supported the proposal, the cabinet supported it—although that was Plaid Cymru-led at that point—and the full council had also supported the proposal. Despite that, there are still people saying that the proper processes hadn’t been followed and that local people had been ignored. Well, as far as I can see, the county council, in the case of Llangennech, and in their Welsh in education strategic plan, have followed all statutory steps and all steps required by Government. Therefore, it is disappointing that the Government wasn’t more willing to stand by the council in this case. How can we avoid in future this kind of situation arising again—when there is a WESP that is approved by the council and all proper steps are taken, and then some—some—people try to make this a linguistic argument?

I’ll answer your first question first. Yes, it is an option to ensure that the plans are statutory in future. It’s also an option, of course, to move the planning process to consortia across the nation, and we are considering that at present. I don’t have any proposal to put forward this afternoon on any particular ideas, and I don’t want to propose anything yet. I want to work through the process as it stands over the coming months and to come to conclusions when it’s appropriate to do so—probably over the summer. There will be an opportunity for us to discuss that as part of the White Paper process, and that’s the kind of timetable that I have in mind for different options of doing this and putting it on a statutory footing.

I have avoided discussing the other matters over the past few months, because I don’t want to be part of the kind of debate that we’ve heard and have witnessed over the past few months. I did say in response to Neil Hamilton that silence can be an ally in these things, and I very much hope that we will, over the process of discussion and debate, and through the process of hearing what people say, come to conclusions that are shared across communities wherever they are. And it’s not my intention today to reject any plan. It’s not my intention this afternoon to accept any plan. I want to go through the process of discussion, sharing ideas and visions and coming to an agreement at the end of this process, and then move, on a joint basis, towards the future. What I want to see, wherever we are in Wales, is a way of working that will recognise that people have different ideas and different visions, sometimes, for education in our communities, but that we can agree that there is an appropriate place for the Welsh language, and that the Welsh language does have to be part of the education process. And when we come to an agreement, we will all then collaborate in future.

I thank the Minister.