4. Statement by the Minister for International Relations and Welsh Language: Consultation on national policy on Welsh language transmission in families

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:02 pm on 11 February 2020.

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Photo of Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan Labour 4:02, 11 February 2020

(Translated)

Thank you very much, Siân. Can I say I would have a great interest in seeing a copy of that report, and seeing how that can be interwoven or what we can learn from that? I think that setting targets is important but difficult, so we have to do that in the right context, but certainly in terms of reaching 1 million Welsh speakers, transmission is vital in terms of what our expectations are. So, that target is there already. What we need to do is ensure that there is a way to implement that to ensure that we do reach that target.

I do think that there is a difference between what was happening previously with Twf and that progressed to Cymraeg i Blant. Twf was only available in some areas and one of the things that is important is that this is spread across the country. But it’s important that we also acknowledge that it’s going to be different from one area to the next.

The other thing that’s different with this, and you are right, the siarter iaith—. We’re not just talking about language transmission now, but having the children who are in school now and who come from non-Welsh speaking households—how can they be parents who speak Welsh and how can they be transmitters of the language? And you are right, we have to see how the siarter iaith can be interwoven with that, and that will be something I will be feeding back on to see how that can work. But you’ll see from what we've published today that trying to have children who are in school today to be transmitters or to be transformed, and ensuring that they do share the Welsh language with their children is a vital part of the strategy

I wasn't aware of the timing issue with the guidance, but I will go back and do some more research on the timing.