7. Motion to note the annual report on the Assembly Commission's Official Languages Scheme for 2018-19

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:15 pm on 17 July 2019.

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Photo of Siân Gwenllian Siân Gwenllian Plaid Cymru 4:15, 17 July 2019

(Translated)

Thank you very much. Perhaps I’ll start by responding to that last comment and the fact that you had said, David Rowlands, before the whole Assembly today that your mum indeed had suffered as a result of the historic issues that were happening in our schools, where people were punished physically for speaking Welsh. I’m still incensed about that, but one turns that anger into constructive action and I’m very pleased at the innovative work in this area.

I thank Suzy for her constructive and positive comments here, endorsing and praising the work that has been done in terms of linguistic planning in this workplace. There are people from Norway and Finland who have come here to Wales to see the innovative work that we’re doing on linguistic planning and who are eager to learn from our experiences and from our practices with minority languages in their own nations.

I’m pleased that you agree that getting rid of that ‘Welsh essential’ tag has been a positive step. We know from experience, not just in the Assembly, but in other fields as well, that people choose not to apply for posts because they were concerned about that ‘Welsh essential’ tag. But, since introducing descriptions on different levels of skills, we’ve seen advertisements being developed in terms of the specific needs of posts and we’ve seen an increase in the number of Welsh learners who have been appointed to posts, which shows the value of investing in language skills training for those individuals and for the organisation as a whole.

In terms of the courtesy level Welsh, well it's excellent to see that in practice. I’ll never forget, in the National Eisteddfod, seeing the security officers taking great delight in using Welsh, saying, 'Bore da' and 'Prynhawn da'. One thing that is used often is ‘Popeth mewn trefn’—'Everything in order’. I hear that now, and it’s excellent hearing that courtesy level Welsh being used. I see that I am out of time. So, I’m very pleased to introduce this report. The work will continue. It’s far from being perfect, but we will continue and will maintain momentum.

If I can say just one brief word before concluding, as I wouldn’t like to finish today without naming one official specifically. We don’t usually do this, I know, but I would like to pay tribute to Craig Stephenson, the Assembly Commission’s director of engagement, who is retiring. He has been a tireless champion over the years and a passionate advocate of every aspect of the official languages scheme, thereby ensuring that providing excellent bilingual services is at the heart of everything that the Assembly Commission does. So, thank you very much, Craig, and best wishes for the future.