The next item is a statement by the Minister for Education and Welsh Language on 10-year Welsh in education strategic plans. I call on the Minister for Education and Welsh Language, Jeremy Miles.

Thank you, Dirprwy Lywydd. It's my pleasure to be here today to update Members on the Welsh in education strategic plans, namely the plans of our local authorities to grow Welsh-medium education over the next 10 years.

As a result of new guidance and regulations for the WESPs, local authorities have prepared new, more ambitious plans that provide opportunities to more learners, including those with additional learning needs, to access Welsh-medium education and learning opportunities. We’ve worked together with local authorities to review and revise draft plans, and I’m pleased to tell you that the process of approving the strategic plans has begun. While there is still work to do, working with local authorities, we are expecting to be on track to approve the plans by the end of July. I look forward to seeing all plans being operational from September, and am very confident that every local authority will be in a position to embark on their next 10-year WESP cycle together.

I’m delighted to tell you that all 22 of our local authorities have committed to their ambitious 10-year targets of increasing the provision of Welsh-medium education. These targets match the milestones of our Welsh language strategy, 'Cymraeg 2050: A million Welsh speakers'. Some local authorities have gone the extra mile and have set targets that exceed our expectations. We want 26 per cent of year 1 learners receiving their education through the medium of Welsh by 2026, rising to 30 per cent by 2031. This is a target that I have every confidence in achieving with these WESPs in place.

I’d like to draw attention to some of the commitments set out in these plans. There are exciting developments on the horizon. There is a clear emphasis on increasing the number of primary school settings across Wales with commitments to establish 23 new Welsh-medium primary schools and to expand 25 Welsh-medium primary schools over the next 10 years. The revised plans show that a high percentage of these developments are to be realised during the first five years of the WESPs, and that more often than not, they are made possible with the support of capital funding from the Welsh Government.

Cymraeg, the Welsh language, belongs to us all, and it’s important to recognise that everyone has their own unique journey when it comes to learning and using the language. Working together to produce the WESPs has provided some great opportunities to see just what can be achieved. The Curriculum for Wales, which allows all schools and settings to introduces the teaching of Welsh from the age of three, has provided an opportunity for us to plan differently. It’s wonderful to see so many local authorities taking advantage of these opportunities. One such example is the 10 authorities that have decided to focus on moving their schools along a language continuum by increasing the provision of Welsh available.

Having said that, we must remind ourselves that the WESPs are a planning framework that cannot be implemented without cross-sector support. I know that there has been an army of individuals representing schools, parents, and organisations at all levels who have been actively involved over the last year in developing the WESPs and the draft plans of local authorities. I’d like to thank you all for that work, and also to thank you in advance for the work still ahead of us to support the implementation of the new plans from September. Your commitment is recognised and valued. I wish also to recognise and commend the officers at the local authorities for your commitment and perseverance through one of the most challenging times that we have faced in decades. It has been admirable. Your continued engagement with each other and with us has ensured that plans to grow Welsh-medium education over the next 10 years are as ambitious as they can be. Thank you to you all.

On the political side, I recognise the need to have the support of all cabinets in Wales to realise the ambition of 'Cymraeg 2050', and that's why I will take the opportunity to meet all council leaders during the autumn term to discuss opportunities and challenges related to Welsh-medium education planning. As Minister for Education and the Welsh Language, I’ve also put in place steps to support the effective implementation of the WESPs. These include investment since 2018 of £76 million in dedicated Welsh-medium capital grants, creating over 3,700 additional childcare and school places and 285 places in additional late immersion centres or units; a commitment to investing £2.2 million annually until the end of this Senedd term to support late immersion provisions in all local authorities in Wales; support for Mudiad Meithrin to increase Welsh-medium nursery provisions each year by establishing 150 new provisions by 2026; publishing a 10-year Welsh in education workforce plan with additional funding to deliver it; ensuring free Welsh lessons for the education workforce through the National Centre for Learning Welsh from September this year; consulting on a draft Curriculum for Wales framework for Welsh in English-medium education—the supporting materials will be refined and published in September this year; increasing funding for the e-sgol scheme to £600,000 to extend the e-learning programme to all areas of Wales by 2023.

I've been lucky to have been able to visit a number of the projects that we've invested in. There are so many innovative examples and inspiring stories from Anglesey to Monmouthshire, from late immersion provisions in Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy to innovative projects taking place at Pen y Dre school in Merthyr to increase the use of Welsh in an English-medium school.  

However, we must acknowledge the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, which we're still processing. There must be a period for reflection, particularly in terms of supporting families and increasing understanding of what Welsh-medium education offers. We'll continue to closely monitor the longer term implications of the pandemic on the choices of parents and carers regarding Welsh-medium education. But my message is clear: I want Welsh-medium education to be an option for everyone, and I want everyone to have the opportunity to be bilingual citizens in Wales. 

Some will say that the strategic plans are not ambitious enough, but we must remember the journey that we've been on and what we've learnt. We've achieved a lot, but I know there's more that can and needs to be done to ensure better access to Welsh-medium education in areas where it's needed most. There are still too many barriers to Welsh-medium education and too many children missing out on opportunities to be educated through the medium of Welsh and become confident bilingual speakers and more. We've gone as far as we can within the current WESP framework, and further improvements to that framework will be considered as part of scoping work on a Welsh language education Bill. 

Before concluding, I would like to thank everyone once more and underline the importance of working together, to be open together, to support each other. It's a crucial decade, but an exciting opportunity for the Welsh language and for Wales.

I thank the Minister for introducing this today and giving us sight of the statement beforehand. May I start by welcoming the general direction of today's announcement? As a pupil who benefited from bilingual education, it's good to see that Welsh-medium education for primary school pupils is a priority, because it's important to catch children early if we're to develop the language.

I'd be eager to understand how the 23 new schools will be distributed across the country. Are they focused on settings where there are fewer Welsh speakers? Also, what timetable are we looking at so that these projects can go to tender and be constructed? Will you ensure that this budget increases with inflation? If projects don't happen for a few years, and inflation continues to rise, how can we ensure that this doesn't go over budget? 

You mention expanding 25 other schools. How can we be confident that these expansions will be adequate? You note the aim of having 26 per cent of year 1 pupils receiving their education through the medium of Welsh from 2026. Are we on the right track at the moment to achieve this, or do some of these new schools need to be built in order to attain that target?

I've raised this next issue with you previously. If these new schools are to be built, they will also need to be staffed, of course. Now, taking those 23 new sites and ignoring the 25 expansions, as well as the new requirements of the Curriculum for Wales to increase Welsh-medium provision in English-medium schools, we will need hundreds of new Welsh-speaking teachers. How will this be delivered, and how will we ensure that we have a good range of teachers from diverse backgrounds and with diverse life experience? Has any consideration been given to how to attract mature students into teaching?

My final point relates to the transition from primary to secondary education. Although the growth in Welsh-medium education in primary schools is to be welcomed, it's more difficult to achieve this in secondary education because of the numbers and catchment areas. So, what work is under way to allow smooth transition between a pupil leaving year 6 having being educated through the medium of Welsh and starting in year 7 in an English-medium or bilingual school? We all faced challenges as we transitioned from primary to secondary, and we do need to ensure that any barriers that exist because of language change is reduced and resolved.

So, thank you for the statement once again, Minister. As I previously mentioned, the Welsh language belongs to us all across Wales. Thank you.

I thank the Member for the questions and for his support for the statement generally, and the questions are very valid. In terms of the location of the new schools, the 23 new Welsh-medium schools will be located in 15 local authorities, but they will stretch from Pembrokeshire to Merthyr to the Vale, so across Wales. And 10 local authorities are also focusing on moving current schools along the linguistic continuum. So, when the plans are published in due course, after they're officially approved, the Member will be able to see in detail what the plans are in every part of Wales, and the picture looks different in every authority. It depends on where they already are on their journey towards increasing provision. Some, in terms of the workforce question, as he asked at the end, will need to recruit additional teachers. He'll see in the plans that there is an analysis of the requirement that will be needed to ensure they succeed in the plans. That is also included in the 10-year workforce plan, and we'll be looking every two years at the current situation, so that we keep track in real time of the success in terms of recruiting larger numbers. But for other local authorities, where the emphasis is on moving schools along the continuum, it's a question of developing the skills of the current workforce for them. So, there is a mixture of needs, and he'll know that the 10-year plan does contribute significantly to the recruitment into that sector.

In terms of timescales, it's a 10-year plan, but we need to see progress in each year, and various objectives across Wales are based on periods of five years, for example, so that we see progress in the first year, for example, and then actions being taken in the longer term within that decade. Every local authority will be expected to present an action plan for the first five years and they will be monitored annually. So, they will be publishing those after publishing the WESPs.

And he asked a very important question about the role of sustainable communities for learning, namely our investment plan in the educational estate generally. I want to consider how we can make the best use of the capital programme to ensure that we support our ambition of 1 million Welsh speakers. I mentioned in the statement the £76 million fund that has been allocated for new schools and school expansion plans, but I also want to see what more we can do to ensure that progress in the strategic plans happens with the broader plans with our partners in local authorities across Wales.  

Thank you, Minister, for your statement this afternoon. I welcome two things specifically, namely your honesty in this statement—your honesty about the political challenges that you faced in terms of ensuring that every local authority does fully commit to these plans, and also your honesty in terms of the ongoing challenges, the very real challenge that we're not just trying to meet demand but we're also generating demand, and what do we mean by real equal access to Welsh-medium education, because the fact that a Welsh-medium school is available doesn't necessarily mean that that is an option when there are new English-medium schools in communities, and that children would have to travel miles away to access Welsh-medium education. That isn't equal access. And neither is it equal access when you have new English-medium schools and Welsh-medium schools that desperately need investment and aren’t getting that investment.

So, there are very real challenges, and we have been discussing this. One of the things that concerns me in terms of the WESPs, and my experience of them as a councillor too, is the fact that you can get the most ambitious plan, the best plan in the world, but it’s about actually delivering those targets. That’s what we haven’t seen to date, and that’s the ongoing concern in terms of seeing reports from some county councils that do state that they’ve not delivered against their targets, and the plans don’t demonstrate exactly how they’re going to do that.

Time and again they say that the demand doesn’t exist, without ever asking why the demand doesn’t exist. Because if additional learning needs aren’t met, if equal access in terms of transport isn’t delivered, if that school isn’t within walking distance of the community, then the demand won’t be there, because it will be an ongoing battle, and I do think we need to go back to those local authorities. I think it’s disgraceful that some local authorities have no intention of creating new Welsh-medium primary schools over the next decade. What are we going to do about that? You’ve just said that it’s 15 local authorities who are committed to this. This is disastrous news for the Welsh language, and I’m greatly saddened about this if we are serious about reaching a million Welsh speakers.

I would like to have some transparency as to where exactly the 23 schools will be. We’ve also seen Carmarthenshire County Council committing that 10 English-medium schools will transition to Welsh-medium provision. That’s to be welcomed, but what about those areas where there isn’t access to Welsh-medium schools, and Welsh-medium secondary schools particularly?

There is so much to welcome, of course, and I don’t want to be entirely critical. Things such as the investment in the cylchoedd meithrin—that is a major step forward. But as has been said to me recently, there is a new nursery being established in Cilfynydd in light of the loss of Ysgol Gynradd Gymraeg Pont Sion Norton in that area of Pontypridd. It’ll be full from September onwards, but where is the Welsh-medium primary school so that those children can continue their journey, because there’s a risk that they will be lost to Welsh-medium education if the pathway isn’t fair and equitable?

So, I would like to ask specifically: what are we going to do if these councils don’t meet the targets set? How are we going to not only monitor, but what will the implications be for those authorities who, year on year, don’t deliver against those targets? How will the Welsh Government ensure that they not only collaborate but also provide the necessary and fair investment? Because if we are seriously going to secure the access that I know the Minister wants to see, as do I, in terms of Welsh-medium education being available to all, and truly and meaningfully available, then county councils have to accept that this isn’t optional, and they have to understand what equal access means.

You said at the end of your statement that it’s a crucial decade—that’s certainly the case. You’ve also emphasised the challenges as a result of COVID, but the most real challenges are in those areas where the ambition does not exist. And I think one of the things, having read some of the draft WESPs on council websites, is that not all are truly ambitious. I think we have to challenge that. I’m pleased to see that you are going through them in detail at the moment, and I hope you are challenging those councils. But you’ve said that the WESPs go as far as possible at the moment, but aren’t there ways in which we could strengthen these through legislating and penalising those authorities where the commitment to the Welsh language is rhetoric rather than a true commitment to ensure equal access?

Well, the easiest thing in the world is to suggest that things are not ambitious enough, but it’s just not true. It’s just not true what the Member said. What’s your definition of ambition if not to recognise that these are the first WESPs since 2014 that are driven by a target calculated by the Government, not by the local authorities? So, if that isn’t a sign of ambition, and the fact that we have set what we think is the objective, and that all local authorities have accepted that objective—. If every authority reaches the lowest part of the range, we’ll be on track to reach the objective in 2050.

So, I don’t agree at all that there is insufficient ambition in these plans. Work has been happening to ensure to ensure that they are ambitious. But the Member is right to say that this is a tool, if you like, for planning, and we need to deliver the objectives in the plans. That's entirely true, of course. I don't accept that we haven't had success so far; success has happened across Wales, but it's not happening in every authority, I do accept that as well. And we need to ensure that the plans that are agreed are also delivered. And we'll be doing everything we can as a Government to ensure that.

I've already mentioned in my answer to Sam Kurtz one of the things that we want to do, namely to ensure how the investment plan can reflect not just the broader plans that councils have but ensure that growth happens in terms of the strategic plans jointly with the broader plans that they have, so that the situation is equitable rather than one being prioritised over the other. But I do accept also that the legislative measures are not available for us to be able to enforce some of these outcomes. That's why we're having discussions with you as a party, as part of the co-operation agreement, to ensure what more we can do in terms of legislation to strengthen the statutory framework that underpins these plans.

You are right to say also that the geographical element can be challenging. The current strategic plans happen on the basis of a local authority area in its entirety, rather than at a community level, a lower level than that. So, what more can we do to strengthen our ability to plan on that basis? But there has been a geographical element in the discussions that have already happened. And certainly I think, when the Member sees the final plans, she'll be able to see that.

You asked the question why all local authorities aren't opening a new school. Well, some local authorities allow 90 per cent and more of their children to go to a Welsh-medium school already. So, it's a question of demographics. So, it's much more complex than that criticism suggests. But it is important to ensure that we do keep a watching brief to ensure that progress does happen, and so I have been clear that we need progress in every year. So, there will be annual monitoring on the basis of the action plans that will be published by the authorities after these WESPs, and they will be available to all of us to scrutinise and to ensure that that progress does happen from year to year.

Thank you, Minister, for your statement today. I'm proud of the record of achievement that my local authority has for delivering Welsh-medium education in Cynon Valley and the ways in which they've taken advantage of Welsh Government funding to increase provision, with, for example, a £12.5 million expansion of Ysgol Gyfun Rhydywaun currently under way, and the new £4 million purpose-built meithrin set to open next week at Ysgol Gynradd Gymraeg Aberdâr. All of this is essential if we're serious about meeting our challenging goal of a million Welsh speakers by 2050.

Last week, I visited a newly formed Ti a Fi group at Cilfynydd, which is also set to open its own meithrin in a few weeks' time. The key issue raised with me there was the challenge of finding qualified Welsh-speaking childcare staff, which I know from our previous interactions Welsh Government are looking to address. As part of this, the specific issue of a lack of continuity between the qualifications required to become a Welsh-speaking childcare worker and the qualifications required to become a Welsh-speaking teaching assistant was raised with me, with both being entirely separate courses with no easy way to move from one to the other. While accepting the fact that there needs to be progression between these courses, will the Minister commit to expanding this interface to see whether more can be done to streamline the process and make it easier for qualified Welsh-speaking childcare assistants to become teaching assistants and vice versa?

I thank Vikki Howells for that question, and it is something that I know she feels passionately about, and we've discussed this issue one-to-one outside this Chamber as well. She is right to say that it is very important to ensure that the provision that we have for the early years allows and encourages parents to choose education in all periods for their children through the medium of Welsh. Significant investment is happening in order to expand the number of Welsh-medium provisions over the term of this Senedd—some 150 extra provisions. But I do accept the challenge that she lays down, that we need to ensure a smooth journey to qualify to teach in whichever period of education, statutory and early years. And one of the questions we're looking at at present is the language continuum in terms of qualifications, and understanding where on that common pathway linguistic qualifications fall, so that we have a clearer understanding of what's available in order to train teachers, to train adults generally, to teach Welsh, and also the qualifications that are available in the school. So, that work is complex, it is innovative in this Welsh context, but it has just started. I'll have more to say about that, hopefully, in due course.  

Finally, Luke Fletcher.

Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. I'm sure the Minister can guess what I'm about to draw his attention to. I raised with you last week my concerns with the speed at which Bridgend are going in relation to Welsh-medium education. Looking at the Welsh in education strategic plan published by Bridgend County Borough Council, they state that the Welsh Government has set the target of increasing Welsh-medium learners in the borough from 8 per cent to 14 to 18 per cent over the course of 10 years. I would have liked to have seen a higher target. I'm sure he was probably expecting me to say that, but I do think there are some valid concerns amongst campaigners on how serious BCBC will be in reaching its targets. 

You only need to look at the situation now: significant investments in expanding English-medium schools, one school receiving £900,000; my old primary school moving to a new site, but its current site being turned into another English-medium school. Unless areas like Bridgend push harder and faster, then the Government will struggle to hit its targets. I'd be interested to learn from the Minister what incentives are there for local authorities to improve the situation, but, more importantly, what will happen if local authorities don't reach their targets, because, since the very first targets were set, very little has happened in areas like Bridgend.

And you're probably wondering why I'm asking this question in English—it's to make the point that the language is for everybody. My family chose to send me to a Welsh school; I've come from a non-Welsh-speaking family. I want all parents to have that choice, if they so want, to do that. But that can only happen if they're able to access Welsh-medium education in the first instance. 

Well, I agree with the Member's last sentiment, certainly, and that is the underlying principle behind the entire enterprise that we're engaged in in relation to the Welsh in education strategic plans. I note the Member has got his disappointment in early. I think perhaps the other way of looking at this is that each authority, including Bridgend, has agreed to an ambitious plan. But, as I mentioned in my answer to Heledd Fychan earlier, it's incumbent on all authorities—that includes Bridgend, but every other authority as well—to commit to delivering those plans, and we have—. I've described the granular monitoring that will take place year on year to make sure that is happening, both from a staff perspective but also from an investment perspective, and I will be looking at what more we can do with our sustainable communities for learning plan to make sure that we see progress in relation to delivering on the WESPs alongside any authority's broader ambitions in relation to education in their own particular area. 

But I accept—though I have accepted already—that there is a limit to the range of powers that the Government currently has where those plans aren't met. So, I am keen, as I know is he and his party, to look at what more we can do in that area in the event that we don't see the progress we want to see. But I would invite him to embark on the journey over the next 10 years with a sense of optimism, and to make sure that we all work together to see that these plans actually are delivered.  

And a late request to speak from Huw Irranca-Davies. 

Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer; I apologise.

I simply want to come in on the back of Luke's comments there, because there is a fair degree of confidence that the Minister has expressed in Bridgend, and also in the Rhondda Cynon Taf patch of my constituency as well, in their WESP plans going forward. But I met with Meurig, the award-winning headteacher, the other day, and I think he would really welcome a visit, alongside Huw David, the council leader, as well to talk about the plans and how they pan out, not just in the next 12 months, five years, but the 10 years, so we can really realise that ambition. But I have to say these are all building blocks. It is a journey. It was great over the last year simply to see two new Mudiad Meithrin opening within the borough, funded by Welsh Government, planned with the local Welsh-speaking community, with the local authority as well. But it is a journey. But it would be great to have you down there sometime and discuss with all of us as Members and the local authority how we can achieve these targets. 

I thank Huw Irranca-Davies for that question and that invitation, which I'd be happy to accept. Meurig in his comments at the awards on Sunday was very clear about the need for making sure that every single child in Wales that would like to have access to Welsh education has that, and I certainly share that ambition, as I know does Huw Irranca-Davies as well. 

Thank you, Minister.

In accordance with Standing Order 12.24, unless a Member objects, the three motions under items 6, 8 and 9, the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 regulations 2022, will be grouped for debate but with separate votes. Item 7 has been withdrawn.

Any objections? [Interruption.] No, do you want to speak to them all together? [Interruption.] Yes. So, you're not objecting to the grouping. No objections to the grouping.