Thank you to the Minister for having previous sight of the statement. As the Minister's recognised this afternoon, the Cymraeg 2050 strategy is ambitious and aspirational, but to safeguard the future of our language, we must ensure that our policies are innovative and that our leadership is accountable.

In the year that I've been a Member, I've come to realise how important it is to remove barriers and ensure that our language is one that everyone can share and learn, which is partly why I welcome this afternoon's statement. But if we're serious about the development of our language, we must ensure that the efforts made are adequate in increasing Welsh speakers in Wales, not to maintain current levels alone. And that's my greatest concern with this policy—that it won't deliver its intended aims.

The purpose of today's statement, as the Minister said, is to develop Welsh-medium learning through all levels of supported education, in line with pledges made five years ago. Indeed, in the plan made five years ago by the then Minister, the Member for Blaenau Gwent, the Welsh Government pledged to increase the number of primary school teachers able to teach through the medium of Welsh by 7 per cent. This would have seen the number of teachers increasing from 2,903 to 3,100. But, five years after the introduction of Cymraeg 2050, we've gone backwards.

In line with the last academic year, 2,871 primary teachers were able to teach through the medium of Welsh—a deficit of 7.4 per cent in staffing levels. But this isn't the only trend that we're seeing; the level of secondary school teachers has gone through the floor. In the academic year of 2020-21, 2,395 teachers taught through the medium of Welsh. The target for this period was 2,800—14 per cent lower than the original target. Of course, an ambitious target such as this one will bring its own challenges—challenges first set out five years ago. When this strategy was first launched, your Government was warned that our Welsh-medium education sector was facing a difficult recruitment crisis, a situation that was exacerbated by your plans in Cymraeg 2050. And here we are, five years later, with a plan to address this situation. Has the Government taken its eye off the ball here?

Five years ago, the culture committee of the Senedd warned that we would need 70 per cent more Welsh-medium teachers to reach the target of a million Welsh speakers. The former Minister, Alun Davies, dismissed this. Does the Minister agree with that, or does he regret that his Government has failed to step in sooner in order to tackle these shortcomings? If we are serious about safeguarding our wonderful language, then the Welsh Government must be proactive in safeguarding it. We cannot continue to tackle five-year-old problems five years after they are first identified. This approach to governance is not sustainable, and although I agree with much of what's contained within today's statement, I am concerned that the statement could be too late.

It's clear that the past five years has seen delay, and if we don't take action now, then there is a risk that a million Welsh speakers will slip from our grasp, and with that there is a risk that we will put the future of our language at risk in the future.

In looking to the future, we must ensure that we listen to our education sector. I have always said that nobody has a monopoly on good ideas, and here we are again, welcoming resolving the problems of 2017. But you have listened to our education staff, Minister—thank you—so here we are, only five years late.

I commend the Welsh Government for bringing this statement forward, but don't delay before taking action on these changes. Let us ensure that the next generation of Welsh speakers receive that fundamental support that they need to prosper. Thank you very much, Deputy Presiding Officer.