Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:07 pm on 5 June 2018.
Thank you very much, Suzy. I’m glad that we agree that the current system is costly, that it’s overly bureaucratic and that it takes a great deal of time. But I also accept the fact that a great deal of work has already been done on the new plans—the standards that people expected to come in future. We won’t be stopping that work in its entirety, but we’ll be spending this next period of time ensuring that we prioritise developing the Bill, so that we can simplify the process. That’s the idea behind ensuring that we get a new Bill that looks at how to simplify the process. But more than that, much more than that, and far more importantly, what this does is that it considers the fact that we have a policy to reach 1 million Welsh speakers by 2050. If we don’t put the infrastructure in place to ensure that we work towards that target, then it will be more difficult for us to reach the target. What’s happened, at present, is that so much emphasis has been placed on the standards and on policing the standards that we have lost sight, I believe, on promotion and encouragement. And that’s why we want to see this very different emphasis on promotion and encouragement, particularly in terms of trying to encourage people, and learners in particular, to engage with the Welsh language.
I take the point with regard to the fact that we need to get some kind of way within this new commission—that this policing function is independent of the Government. I have been very clear with my officials that we need to get a system that is at arm’s length of Government, so that that policing function can happen at arm’s length of Welsh Government.
With regard to the workforce, I think that you’re entirely correct. What’s interesting with the health standards is that, even though people in general want to see this movement, the problem is a practical one: the population isn't there to promote. But if we do get as many people into the system as we want, then, over time, that system will change, hopefully. But a vital part of that is to get people into the education system to teach through the medium of Welsh. So, that's why this £5,000 is crucial to try to encourage more people into teaching through the medium of Welsh. So, we very much hope that this will change the way that we attract people to teach and train through the medium of Welsh over the coming months.