5. What further steps will the Welsh Government take to develop the Welsh language in areas where there are fewer Welsh-speakers? OAQ54551

Thank you very much, John. I'm pleased the south-east has benefited from capital funding to expand Welsh-medium education and childcare provision that are provided in the area. This, of course, will nurture new Welsh speakers. And also, through the Urdd apprenticeship schemes, 35 young people are working in the Valleys taskforce areas to support Welsh language opportunities for children and young people in the community.

The Deputy Presiding Officer (Ann Jones) took the Chair.

Thank you very much, Minister. Welsh in Newport today is far more often heard now than when the Assembly came into existence. Welsh-medium education continues to grow, and pupils in all English-medium schools also learn Welsh. Signage and announcements are bilingual and there are opportunities for adults to learn and use the Welsh language, but the language is still relatively weak and only a little Welsh is spoken on the streets.

The Welsh Government has ambitious targets to increase the number of Welsh speakers, and we will need to see a great deal of progress in areas such as Newport. What steps will the Welsh Government take to deliver this progress?

Well done, John, and thank you very much for that. I think you’re an example of how the Welsh language captures the imagination of people in areas such as Newport, and you are an example to other people in the area. So, thank you very much for the effort of learning Welsh. If more people did the same, we would reach the target of 1 million quite easily.

What's interesting is that aim of reaching that target is something that has been recognised by the council on the local level, and the fact that they will be establishing a fourth Welsh-medium school in the area is an acknowledgement, I think, that there is a need to step forward.

So, currently, about 6 per cent of children in year 7 from the area attend Welsh-medium schools. In 10 years’ time, we hope there will be 11 to 15 per cent of children of that age attending Welsh-medium schools. And the fact that we’ve been able to provide capital funding to help develop the new school is an important step, I think, in the right direction. On top of that, we are supporting a number of students to ensure that they continue to speak Welsh once they have left school. So, just to give you an example, 140 students are on early years care and health and care courses, and they have completed 10 hours of Welsh in the workplace. So, ensuring that they can use the Welsh language once they have learnt is also essential.

Minister, the commissioner’s report 'Hawlio cyfleoedd'—'Rights in use'—shows that only 37 per cent of people believe that opportunities to use the Welsh language are increasing. So, clearly, more needs to be done to raise awareness of Welsh language services and more needs to be done to identify and improve Welsh language skills, especially in the workforce.

In response to this report, can you tell us what the Welsh Government is doing to help public bodies to improve their internal processes to ensure compliance, and what specific steps the Welsh Government is taking in areas where there are fewer Welsh speakers, in order to ensure that public bodies do have sufficient staff to provide Welsh language services in the first instance?

Thank you very much. I do think that the opportunities to use the Welsh language in the workforce are increasing. You will be aware that the National Centre for Learning Welsh provides special courses for people who want to speak Welsh in the workplace. Therefore, ensuring that more people can learn is a great help, I think. But also, the work of the commissioner is to ensure that the standards in all the departments and areas where there is a need for them to comply with the new standards—it's important that they have an opportunity as well. What we have been discussing with the commissioner, and what he’s keen to do, is to ensure that not only do they police the standards but also ensure that there is an opportunity for people to promote the Welsh language, to use the Welsh language, and that that support is additionally in the system.