I saw the evidence from Mudiad Meithrin to the committee, and it was excellent evidence. They, of course, were talking about the target of 2050, and that we’d need 600 ‘cylchoedd meithrin’ by that time. The number that we have is an additional 150 by 2031. So, we have around 450 at present, and that takes us up to 500 by 2031. So, I don’t think that we’re far apart on this, because some ‘cylchoedd’ will merge, some will grow, and so it’s a fluid situation with regard to how it’s developed. The important thing, and I agree with the Mudiad Meithrin on this, is that children have, at the very early stage of their lives, the same opportunity to attend Welsh-medium ‘cylchoedd’ and bilingual ‘cylchoedd’ nationwide, so that they have the opportunity to start learning Welsh as early as possible in their education.

When it comes to the Valleys taskforce, I want to ensure that the Welsh language is part of the daily life of the Valleys once again. It was excellent for me personally to visit a school in my constituency and listen to children speaking Welsh with Tredegar, Brynmawr, and Ebbw Vale accents, and starting to regenerate the Welsh language in areas where it’s been lost for a century. And that’s where we want to see—. I remember meeting you in Tŷ’r Gwrhyd in Pontardawe, where we have another opportunity to revive the Welsh language in communities where it’s lost ground. I very much hope, in the work that we do with the Valleys taskforce—we’re focusing on the economic side at present, but, as we move forward over the coming years, I very much hope that there will be a new emphasis on the Welsh language in the Valleys to ensure that the Valleys are an area where the Welsh language is strong once again.