Let me be clear: we will not stop enforcing the standards. Bodies must fulfil their statutory duties, but in my view it is always better to use a carrot rather than a stick wherever possible. That's a terrible translation, I know. If somebody can find a better idiom in Welsh, that would help me a great deal. In the field of language, enforcement is unlikely to be effective at bringing about long- term cultural change if we cannot change minds and support bodies to comply. For these reasons, I want to make it clear we will not be introducing more standards for other sectors for the time being. Rather, we will concentrate our resources on developing the new Bill. It is a matter for the First Minister, of course, to confirm the timetable for the Bill in due course.

A central part of our proposals is our intention to create a Welsh language commission. The commission’s main priority will be to promote the Welsh language on the basis of purposeful language planning. We intend that the commission will also be responsible for regulating the standards, but let me emphasise that we will not be rowing back on the standards or on the independence of the regulatory role of the new body. We want the commission to lead significant cultural change. If our aim is to reach a million speakers, it’s obvious that the new commission will need to spend a significant proportion of its time persuading more people to learn Welsh, to use Welsh and to choose Welsh-medium education for their children. There is no hope of reaching the target unless we persuade some of the 80 per cent of the population who don’t speak Welsh to join us on this important journey. We must also ensure there are many more opportunities to use Welsh. We must persuade more leaders in business, in public services and in civic society—whether they are Welsh speakers or not—to work for the Welsh language or in a way that facilitates the use of the Welsh language. The commission will lead and co-ordinate this work across a number of institutions.

We are already laying firm foundations for Cymraeg 2050. We are investing over £2 million extra over two years in the work of Mudiad Meithrin and Cwlwm in order to develop Welsh-medium provision for the early years. Through the Discover Teaching campaign, the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol is promoting Welsh-medium teaching to students. From September, there will be a new incentive of £5,000 available to attract students to train to teach through the medium of Welsh or bilingually. Our aim is to increase the number of teachers who can teach Welsh and teach subjects through the medium of Welsh.

The role of the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol in post-16 education is essential in order to ensure that those who have attended Welsh schools keep speaking Welsh. This will help the Welsh language skills of the workforce and meet the needs of employers as well. We are also investing £2.5 million this year in the Work Welsh scheme of the National Centre for Learning Welsh. The demand for courses is exceptional. I also recently launched the Welsh for Business scheme, a scheme that works with businesses to help them to use Welsh. And soon, I intend to launch a helpline to give free assistance to businesses and individuals. I expect the proposed commission will expand this kind of work to new areas. 

In planning for the new commission, I am conscious that the term of the current commissioner ends in March of next year. In order to ensure an appropriate transitional period between the present commissioner and the new regime, I will commence a public appointment procedure for a new commissioner shortly. The person who is appointed will play a key role, building on the work of the present commissioner and laying strong foundations for the new commission. I shall be writing today to the Culture, Welsh Language and Communications Committee inviting them to nominate a Member to be part of the appointment panel.

Finally, I wish to update Members on the Welsh in education strategic plans, the WESPs. Now, I approved 15 plans on 15 March this year, and following that announcement, I spoke personally with the leaders of the other seven authorities in order to set out the improvements I was seeking before I could consider approving their plans. Those discussions have been fruitful in most cases. I have approved one further plan, and I’m hopeful that the remainder are close to being approved.

I recognise that the journey has been frustrating at times, and I wish to thank every local authority for their willingness to work with the Government in order to develop and extend Welsh-medium education in their areas. I look forward to seeing further progress following the high number of applications to the £30 million capital grant programme to extend Welsh-medium education, which was announced earlier this year.  

In February, I appointed Aled Roberts to lead an independent advisory board. The board will be responsible for advising on how best to implement the recommendations of the rapid review of Welsh in education strategic plans published in 2017. And I look forward to receiving the board’s advice on how we can strengthen the planning of Welsh-medium education as the foundation for reaching 1 million Welsh speakers by 2050.