Thank you very much, and I’m very pleased to open this debate today and to move the motion.

In March of this year, I published a report named ‘Reaching the Million’, which was brought together by Wales’s leading independent language policy and planning agency, which is IAITH: The Welsh Centre for Language Planning. I was very eager to contribute to the debate as the Government draws up its strategy that will increase the number of Welsh speakers in Wales to 1 million by 2050. I was trying to encapsulate the main strategic priorities that need to be brought together in order to create a successful strategy. Having the assistance of experienced language planners was crucially important, and it’s important that we use their expertise in full in moving to the future.

The motion before us today is an opportunity to encapsulate some of the main issues and, in turn, my fellow Members in the Plaid Cymru group will look at education, maintaining and developing the economy in areas where the Welsh language is the language of daily communication, legislation and promoting the Welsh language. There this much more than that contained in the ‘Reaching the Million’ document, and each of you will have received a copy of it, and it is also available online.

Just a few words on the amendments tabled. The Labour amendment and the UKIP amendment delete all, and therefore we cannot support them. The Labour amendment is a description of some of the actions in the pipeline, or some that have already been introduced. We look forward to seeing the content of the White Paper and the ideas on a new Welsh language Bill. We look forward eagerly to looking through the 1 million Welsh speakers strategy next week, and the planning board is a step in the right direction, but it is only a step.

The UKIP amendment is negative and devoid of any ambition or vision. The Conservative amendment on the economy weakens our motion. The Welsh language needs to be an integral part of economic planning. It is far more than simply about the use of the Welsh language in business. Indeed, this amendment encapsulates perfectly the lack of understanding that exists on the link between the Welsh language and a viable economy in those areas where the Welsh language is the language of daily communication within communities. Our argument is that if the Welsh language is to prosper, we need to safeguard the heartlands, and to do that we need quality jobs in those areas to prevent outmigration and to create economic and social prosperity.

In terms of the Conservative amendment on the role of the Welsh Language Commissioner, reviewing isn’t the same as strengthening. Therefore, we can’t support this. And in terms of considering the purpose of Welsh language standards, we also see this as an attempt or a desire to weaken rather than strengthen. These amendments by the Conservatives could be seen as a lack of commitment to the Welsh language from that party, and I’m sure that they would be eager to persuade us otherwise. Simply, therefore, we are opposed to these amendments.

We believe that our motion is comprehensive, but it doesn’t cover all aspects by any means. There are a number of aspects in creating 1 million Welsh speakers, and in the report, ‘Reaching the Million’, we summarise as follows:

it will be necessary to: sustain the numbers and percentages of speakers and their current use of the Welsh language; reproduce Welsh speakers through the Welsh language socialisation of children both within the family and the local community; produce new speakers through both formal and informal education and childcare systems—in preschool provision, schools, colleges and ex-curricular provision; create new speakers from amongst the Welsh workforce.

In planning for an increasing number of Welsh speakers, sufficient opportunities will need to be provided for people (young people in particular) to use the Welsh language in all aspects of daily life—at home, in pursuing educational courses and training, in their localities and local communities, in the workplace, on social media and in information technology.

It will also be necessary to ensure viable social and economic conditions to sustain and increase the number of areas with a high proportion of Welsh speakers, by integrating language policy and planning objectives with economic strategies and developments in those areas. Additionally, new social networks of Welsh speakers will need promoting and supporting in those areas where the Welsh language is not as strong.

As a backdrop to this, the most favourable conditions will need to be provided to ensure Welsh speakers are able to use the language. This will involve building upon the current legislative architecture in order to reinforce and strengthen the status of the Welsh language, broaden and facilitate its use in both old and new domains, and develop the rights and confidence of Welsh speakers to use the language in all aspects of our country’s daily life.’

That includes extending standards to the private sector, including the telecommunications sector, banking, and supermarkets. Now, that’s an overview at the outset, and I look forward to the rest of the debate.