Thank you very much, Deputy Presiding Officer, and thank you for timetabling these discussions.

Members will recall that I published our strategy, ‘Cymraeg 2050: A million Welsh speakers’, and our ambition to reach a million Welsh speakers back in June. I was clear, and I hope I was clear to all Members at that time, that I was very eager to set our strategy and vision for the future before we discussed legislation, because the strategy and vision are more than a Bill, they are more than legislation, and they are more than the processes that we go through here.

The vision of transforming the position of the Welsh language in Wales is something that I hope will unite all parts of this Chamber. But I also want to ensure that we do have the kind of legislation that will ensure that we have a foundation that will allow us to reach a million Welsh speakers by 2050.

The Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011 was made at the end of the third Assembly, following delays by the Westminster Government in providing the necessary powers to the Assembly to legislate in the area of the Welsh language. Because of those delays, there wasn’t sufficient time at that point to consult on language policies, and the deficiencies there are to be seen within the Measure. The Measure’s heart is in the right place. It gives official status to the Welsh language. It gives people the freedom to use the Welsh language in conversing with each other and, through standards, it gives everyone a right to access services through the medium of Welsh.

But we must now consider how the Measure has been implemented. When councils such as Gwynedd and Blaenau Gwent agree that there is too much bureaucracy, then we have to listen to those comments. The title of the White Paper is ‘Striking the right balance: proposals for a Welsh Language Bill’; that is to say the balance between regulation and the promotion of the Welsh language. First of all, therefore, I propose in the White Paper that we should establish a Welsh language commission, and the purpose is to provide new leadership and energy in promoting the Welsh language.

There are a number of reasons for establishing a commission, rather than placing additional duties on the commissioner. First of all, the authoritative report of the House of Lords on the governance of regulators is very clear that a body that regulates shouldn’t be run by an individual or a single person. I agree with that. Secondly, the promotion of the Welsh language doesn’t mean balloons and biros. Promotion means particular expertise in areas such as language planning, workforce planning, economic development and behavioural change, and goes further in terms of media and marketing. The commission leading the new body must have a cross-section of these skills in order to be able to promote the Welsh language effectively. Thirdly, and separate from the other commissioners, I propose that the commission should have powers to penalise, and it will be a central part in introducing ‘Cymraeg 2050’. There is strength in having varying experiences and viewpoints to provide challenge.

One objection I’ve heard is that one body can’t regulate and promote simultaneously. I don’t accept that argument. There are many bodies that do the two things very successfully. The clear example, of course, is Natural Resources Wales, or the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

I’m not recommending going back to the days of the Welsh language board. The responsibilities of the commission will be broader, and standards are far more powerful than Welsh language schemes. The commission will work within the targets of ‘Cymraeg 2050’, and I have no doubt that the Welsh Government, the Assembly, and the public, will be asking some very difficult questions on the performance of the commission and its contribution to the million.

What of the standards, then? Well, first of all, we must retain standards. That is clear. There is no turning back on that. There are two main aims to the proposals in the White Paper: (1) to cut out as much bureaucracy as possible, and (2) to ensure a regime that puts the focus on putting things right where things go wrong, and making improvements. I also think that accountability for us in a democratic way must be in place, and I propose that the Welsh Government should impose and make standards, and, in so doing, it should have the support of this place, our national Parliament. The role of the commission will be to monitor and to enforce.

I am yet to be persuaded that we need a separate system when complaints are made about Welsh-language services. We can use the same regime as exists if an individual complains of a service to a local authority or a health service. I therefore intend that the commission should follow the same systems as the ombudsman when complaints are received, and, in this context, I have accepted some responses to the White Paper from the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales. The ombudsman has copied his response to the commissioner and to Simon Thomas, as the Chair of the Finance Committee, responsible for introducing the Public Services Ombudsman (Wales) Bill.

The ombudsman is proposing that his office could deal with complaints and inquiries relating to standards as part of its core duties. This would be similar to the system in the Basque Country, where the public services ombudsman is responsible for the language. Deputy Presiding Officer, I think this proposal is an interesting one. It does show that there are other possibilities that can be considered beyond the proposals in the White Paper, and I will be considering the ombudsman’s response in addition to all of the other responses to the consultation. I encourage everyone to respond with their own ideas before the deadline for the consultation, which is the end of this month.

I ask, therefore, that Assembly Members support this motion, accepting amendments 1, 3, 5 and 7, and rejecting 2, 4, 6 and 8. I reject amendment 2 because there is a bigger picture in ‘Cymraeg 2050’. I reject amendment 4 because I do believe that it would be confusing for the public, and a waste of public resources, to have two bodies responsible for the Welsh language. I reject amendment 6. I intend to replace health standards before the end of the year, but, if there is support for the proposals in the White Paper, we will have to take that into account before making further regulations. And I reject amendment 8. I have set out in the White Paper and before the Assembly today my clear reasons for abolishing the role of the commissioner and establishing a commission.

I accept amendment 1. The evidence reflects a variety of opinions on some areas, and that is a positive thing. I accept amendment 3. The White Paper protects the rights of Welsh speakers. I accept amendment 5. Everyone wants to see reduced bureaucracy. And I accept amendment 7. The White Paper makes a definite proposal on extending the standards regime to the private sector.

May I say this in conclusion, Deputy Presiding Officer? I am very eager to hear the views of Members this afternoon, but I am also very eager to hear the views of people across the country. What I have endeavoured to do throughout this process is to ensure unity across the nation on the future of our national language. That means that we ensure our rights as Welsh speakers to speak and use the language and that we also promote in order to ensure that more of the people of Wales can use the language and learn the language. That means, on occasion, that we listen to views that we don’t want to hear and that we listen to views that are very different to our own. What I have done as a Minister with responsibility for the Welsh language is to have the kind of debate that will ensure that there is unity at the end of the debate. Thank you.