7. Statement by the Minister for Education and Welsh Language: Census 2021 — Welsh Language Results

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:52 pm on 24 January 2023.

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Photo of Mike Hedges Mike Hedges Labour 5:52, 24 January 2023

I ticked the ‘speak Welsh’ box, but could have ticked the ‘do not speak Welsh’ box. Does the Minister agree with me that, in future censuses, after ‘Do you speak Welsh?’, you should have a question of, ‘How often? Is it daily, more than once a week or more than once a month?' I await the additional data that will identify the areas where most people speak Welsh. Where over three in four people speak Welsh, such as Caernarfon, it becomes the language used in society, in shops and in pubs. Does the Minister agree with me that, with the growth of incidental Welsh in primary schools, almost all children in primary schools can be said to speak some Welsh? The census won’t pick that up, but do you think we ought to be finding out more about the standard of Welsh of children in English-medium primary schools who are picking up a substantial amount of social Welsh?