8. Will the First Minister make a statement on the use of the Welsh language in Berwyn prison in Wrexham? OQ56309

Thank you very much, Llywydd. The Minister for Mental Health, Well-being and the Welsh Language wrote to the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State in the Ministry for Justice on 16 February to express concern about the allegations made about the experiences of Welsh speakers at Berwyn prison, and to seek clarity on the timescale for implementing changes to improve the situation.

You will be aware that Berwyn prison has been harshly criticised by the independent monitoring board last year for failing to provide for Welsh-speaking prisoners, and had denied certain rights to those prisoners because they were Welsh speaking. Now, six months later, the prison has confirmed, in correspondence with me, that they don't even know how many of their own staff are able to communicate through the medium of Welsh, so how can they claim that they are securing the necessary provision, I'm not sure. And there's been a serious allegation too—and I'm sure you'll be aware of this—that one prisoner had suffered an attack because of the coverage given to his case in the media in relation to the Welsh language.

Now, this whole situation highlights a fundamental failure in meeting the rights of Welsh speakers. I know that prisons are not devolved, but elements to do with the Welsh language are, and this is happening in Wales. There are still more Welsh speakers in prisons outside Wales than there are in Berwyn prison, which proves to me that the original pledge that Berwyn would help to meet the needs of Wales was completely misleading. So, I would encourage you in the strongest possible terms to ensure that this situation changes. The fundamental question is: why are we still seeing Welsh speakers being treated as second-class citizens here in Wales?

Llywydd, I'd like to thank Llyr Gruffydd for those supplementary questions. It is entirely unacceptable to me if people in Berwyn are not being treated according to the laws that we have in place here in Wales. And I have seen the annual report of the independent monitoring board in the Berwyn, which does raise concerns about the use of the Welsh language within the prison. That's why Eluned Morgan has written to the UK Government seeking assurances that the Welsh language scheme at Berwyn is being implemented. Now, I'm sure that Llyr Gruffydd will be aware that the Welsh Language Commissioner has a meeting on the 2 March with representatives of Berwyn prison to discuss this very issue. The authorities at Berwyn prison have outlined steps that they're taking to ensure that rights to use the Welsh language are supported, and we now need to see those steps being taken. We don't just want to see them on paper, but we want to see them having an impact on the lives of those in the prison, as Llyr Gruffydd has suggested this afternoon. 

Thank you, First Minister.