Item 7, a statement by the Minister for Social Justice—Wales: a community of communities. And I call the Minister for Social Justice, Jane Hutt.

Thank you very much, Dirprwy Llywydd. Let me wish everyone a happy St David's Day.

For many years, the Welsh Government has proudly celebrated Dydd Gŵyl Dewi on the international stage by taking Wales to the world and amplifying everything that's magnificent about our country. This year, we continue that tradition, and in addition to celebrating St David's Day internationally, we recognise the importance of celebrating and marking the day here in Wales too. As a result of a recent meeting with the Minister for Education and the Welsh Language to discuss 'Cymraeg 2050', I bring to the Senedd this statement today, a statement highlighting some of our cross-governmental strategies and action plans in the area of social justice and Cymraeg.

Today, we're also celebrating the diversity of communities that makes Wales the country it is today. During my statement, I intend to outline the steps we've already taken, and those we'll take in the future, to create a more equal and prosperous Wales for all—a Wales in which everyone feels a sense of ownership for our language and culture.

Deputy Llywydd, Members will already be aware of the seven well-being goals set out in the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015. The well-being goals underpin all the Welsh Government's work. Three of the goals in particular are of a strong relevance to social justice and Cymraeg, and today, I want to talk about how those goals must work together. They are, of course:

A more equal Wales; a Wales of cohesive communities; and a Wales of vibrant culture and thriving Welsh language.

The Llywydd took the Chair.

All our current strategies and action plans in the area of equality and social justice consider the Welsh language within the design and delivery of policy, in the same way that 'Cymraeg 2050' should complement our social justice ambitions. In recent years, the Welsh Government has undertaken substantial action to progress equality, and some of our most notable work includes: launching the 'Advancing Gender Equality in Wales Plan' in 2020; in 2021, we established the disability rights taskforce; in 2022, I was proud to publish our 'Anti-racist Wales Action Plan'; and at the beginning of this month, the Deputy Minister for Social Partnership marked LGBTQ+ history month with the launch of the LGBTQ+ equality action plan.

The Minister for Education and the Welsh Language has repeatedly stated how Cymraeg belongs to us all, and I share his view. This is why we are taking proactive steps to strengthen the connection between 'Cymraeg 2050' and our existing work in the area of social justice. Within the anti-racist Wales action plan, we noted how, and I quote,

'We have an expansionist and inclusive vision for the Welsh language' and that it can be

'a way of uniting people from different backgrounds. Learning new languages can make us as individuals more open to other cultures'.

So, I’m pleased to reaffirm my commitment to aligning both areas of work, and will continue to work with the Minister to make this a reality.

Seeing communities come together at a time of need fills me with hope for the future. As we mark one year since the invasion of Ukraine, which caused the displacement of the Ukrainian people who could no longer live in their country, I want to share how proud I am to see how communities across Wales have welcomed Ukrainian refugees into their homes and their communities. It's important that Wales is a nation of sanctuary and continues to be. It’s heart-warming to see how families are now integrating into Welsh-speaking communities, with many reports in the media recently highlighting how Ukrainian children are learning Welsh through some of our late immersion centres. Language can be a very powerful integration tool. Projects such as Dydd Miwsig Cymru—Welsh Language Music Day—and the National Centre for Learning Welsh’s 'Croeso i Bawb' resources are important milestones in taking Cymraeg to new audiences and communities. The 'Croeso i Bawb' resource provides opportunities to introduce the Welsh language and Wales to people whose first language is not English, or who do not speak much English. This all contributes to seeing Cymraeg and Welsh culture in a different light, a light that is inclusive and welcoming.

I would also like to highlight the work of Mudiad Meithrin, who recently launched its AwDUra scheme. This project empowers and enables black, Asian and minority ethnic people to write children's literature in Welsh to address the under-representation of ethnic minority communities in Welsh literature.

We are also currently working with the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol and Cardiff and Vale College to develop an engagement event to learn from young ethnic minority Welsh speakers. We will use the outputs of the event to shape further actions to ensure that the needs of young ethnic minority speakers are met.

The Urdd also continues to innovate in this area, and I look forward to meeting Nooh, their new diversity and inclusion sport development officer soon, who speaks Welsh confidently only months after learning. He's an inspiration to us all.  

Llywydd, the work that has been already achieved in this area fills me with pride, and I know that many exciting projects are also in the pipeline, but we mustn’t be complacent, as I know we will still have much work to do.

We recently saw how sport can also play a role in achieving our aims. The Football Association for Wales has successfully ignited the nation’s pride and reignited the nation's love of the language, weaving it naturally into announcements and communications, showing us how to use Cymraeg organically in a way that unites us. They recently showcased Wales to the world at the World Cup and seeing Cymraeg and our culture on the international stage highlighted the importance of languages and culture internationally. Around the globe, bilingualism and multilingualism is the norm. It was only last week, on 21 February, that we celebrated International Mother Language Day. The United Nations promotes the fact that,

'Multilingualism contributes to the development of inclusive societies that allow multiple cultures, worldviews and knowledge systems to coexist and cross-fertilize'.

Earlier today, and in line with International Mother Language Day, I was delighted to attend an event in Grangemoor Park. I also met earlier this afternoon with representatives from Bangladesh's High Commissioner's office. We spoke about a range of issues, including how languages can unite communities here in Wales and around the world.

I started my statement this afternoon by wishing Members a happy St David's Day. Cymraeg and Dydd Gŵyl Dewi belong to us all, and I really do mean that. It belongs to each and every one of us and each and every community across Wales. Let us all celebrate St David's Day, Dydd Gŵyl Dewi, in all of our own unique ways, and let us continue to make Wales a community of communities. Thank you, Llywydd.

Of course, we live in a land of communities: from Aberdeen to Aberystwyth, Cumbria to Carmarthen, Cornwall to Conwy, Belfast to Bridgend and Yorkshire to Y Wyddgrug. As we approach St David's Day, you refer to your cross-governmental strategies and action plans in the area of social justice and Cymraeg. Speaking here seven years ago, I noted that

'Asset-based community development is a large and growing movement that considers people as the primary building blocks of sustainable community development.... Building on the skills of local residents, the power of local associations and the support of local institutions...drawing upon existing community strengths to build stronger communities for the future.'

Do you acknowledge this, and, if so, what practical steps are you taking to give voice, choice, control and real power to the people in our communities?

Speaking here six years ago, I referred to the Welsh Government grant-funded 'Valuing place' report by the Young Foundation, based upon research with people in Aberystwyth, Connah's Quay and Port Talbot, which found that establishing a local network to help encourage, train, mentor, coach and connect people together who want to take local action, whatever their skill set or resource, should be a priority. We need to allow for positive development of place that is inclusive and participatory. I also referred then to the Bevan Foundation 'Communities First—Next Steps' document, which found that the Welsh Government's £500 million Communities First programme did not reduce the headline rates of poverty in the vast majority of communities, still less Wales as a whole, and that a new programme should be co-produced by communities and professionals and not be top-down, i.e. by local authorities, that it should be based on a clear theory of change, building on people's and communities' assets not deficits, and that local action should be led by established community-based organisations with a strong track record of delivery that have significant community engagement. Did the Welsh Government accept the findings of these and other similar reports, and, if so, where is the change and how is this being monitored?

How do you respond to the Carnegie Trust statement, that the enabling-state approach is about recognising that

'government, alongside driving the performance of public services, should enable communities to do what they do best', where communities

'are best-placed to bring a wealth of local knowledge and collective energy to the decisions that affect them'?

What consideration have you given to the January 2022 Wales Co-operative Centre discussion paper, 'Communities Creating Homes', which stated Wales is trailing other nations in the UK when it comes to community ownership rights, adding that the policies in Wales do not offer quite the same empowerment as enjoyed by communities in England or, particularly, Scotland, as they either focus solely on assets and facilities owned by public bodies or necessitate the direct involvement of a public body to implement the power rather than co-production?

What consideration have you given to the February 2022 Institute of Welsh Affairs's 'Our Land: Communities and Land Use' report, which found that Welsh communities are the least empowered in Britain, and community groups in Wales told them about an arbitrary, demoralising scenario with little real process for communities to take ownership of public or private assets?

Funded via a lottery endowment, Building Communities Trust runs the Invest Local programme in 13 local communities across Wales, strengthening their localities in ways that communities themselves see fit, and enabling community groups to provide local social infrastructure and support their communities. However, Building Communities Trust found people in Wales feel increasingly less able to influence decisions affecting their local area. Questioning you here last October, I referred to research by Building Communities Trust with community groups across Wales, showing that they often feel overlooked and under-resourced by local and national government. When I asked you to respond to their statement that they believe there is a big opportunity for Welsh Government to develop better support for community-led, long-term local approaches in Wales, you replied that you'd had a really useful meeting with them the previous week to talk about community policy and to talk about our community asset reach. What practical changes therefore, if any, have you since introduced? 

Finally, the Scottish Government has announced a £27 million investing in communities fund over three years, with over 100 initiatives developed by local people, aiming to tackle community poverty. So, finally, what, if any, action are you taking to support similar projects developed by local people in Wales in which everyone can feel a sense of ownership for the language, culture, economic performance and social well-being of Wales?

Thank you very much, Mark Isherwood, and, indeed, this statement is about a community of communities, which we believe Wales is, surely, in every respect, and particularly I think in relation to our commitment to listening, learning and working with our communities in order to achieve the goals and policies that actually meet the needs of our people. That's why, indeed, I started the statement by referring to the well-being of future generations Act, the seven well-being goals, but also to the ways of working, of course, in terms of the well-being of future generations. This is entirely relevant to the points that you're making in terms of our commitment to engaging with communities and those who use our public services, in particular, in developing that very—. So often you have encouraged and espoused the co-production approach to making sure that we do reach out to our communities to engage with them. 

You know that we are developing community policy for Wales, and I'm really pleased that, through the public services boards, some pilots are now developing in Pembrokeshire, Gwynedd and Ynys Môn. And it is the public services boards—which, actually, of course, are very cross-governmental in terms of their statutory responsibilities and linking, of course, to the well-being of future generations legislation—that actually see for their benefit that they can engage with communities at the closest and most local level to ensure that they can get their policies right and in accord with their objectives. 

I think it is very important that we learn the lessons from all of those reports you've talked about, including Building Communities Trust, who I have been working with to ensure that we get the movement across Government for community policy, developing with my colleagues the Minister for Climate Change, Julie James, and the Minister for Finance and Local Government. We can learn the lessons from not only Communities First, but then successor engagements through Building Communities Trust, to ensure that we can move forward in terms of the asset transfer discussions and debates that we've had very fruitfully in this Senedd.

I would finally like to say I do believe that our community facilities programme is one of the most important ways in which the Welsh Government can directly fund and support community facilities and community groups and organisations across Wales. I'm very pleased to be announcing some more allocation of that funding very shortly, which I think will benefit Members across this Chamber in terms of the impact. 

Just finally, I want to bring this back to the fact that this is an opportunity today to link this to St David's Day, and all of what that means to us, particularly in relation to 'Cymraeg 2050'. We recognise that this is about language, culture and we've actually—. It's not just about investing in Welsh-medium education, which is the £7 million that the Minister for Education and Welsh Language is putting into that, but it's also, actually, looking at ways in which we can embed language into our communities. That's why 'Cymraeg 2050' is so important, and it is about a vibrant future for our language, as set out in the well-being of future generations Act.

Thank you, Minister, and happy St David’s Day to everyone, for tomorrow, too. Unfortunately, it’s not a national bank holiday, as it should be, but we still very much hope for that. Sam Kurtz obviously agrees, so please persuade your Government in the UK to allow us to have a bank holiday. Hopefully, if there’s another Government after the next general election, they will allow us here in Wales to have a bank holiday to celebrate St David’s Day.

Now, you’ve noted, of course, the host of things that are happening in terms of celebrating St David’s Day, but we also have to recognise that it’s a number of volunteers that are driving this at the moment, and we are missing opportunities, important opportunities, and we should be providing more support and promoting what’s available, in the same way as other nations can take advantage of national holidays.

I'm pleased to see the Minister referring to Wales as a community of communities, which was central, of course, to the vision of Gwynfor Evans, and Plaid Cymru has a vision of Wales as a community of interconnected communities that are robust, prosperous, healthy and environmentally sound, which includes ensuring that the ability to learn and use the Welsh language is open to everyone, whatever their circumstances.

It’s therefore good to hear of the Government’s ambitions in terms of co-ordinating the social justice work with the work of promoting the Welsh language. It’s important to acknowledge that promoting the Welsh language is a social justice issue, and there’s a strong relationship, therefore, between the different portfolios. However, there is a need to see specific targets going hand in hand with these objectives, and the truth is, as was demonstrated at the end of last year with the census results, that the objectives of 'Cymraeg 2050' are further away now than they were when those objectives were originally set.

For the second decade on the trot, the percentage of Welsh speakers has declined, reaching the lowest ever level of 17.8 per cent. This equates to almost 24,000 fewer Welsh speakers as compared to 10 years ago, and a loss of 44,000, which equates to the population of Merthyr Tydfil, since 2001. This should also be considered in the context of the fact that only around 20 per cent of our children are currently in Welsh-medium education. It’s difficult, therefore, to see how the Government’s aim of having an

‘expansionist and inclusive vision for the Welsh language’

can be delivered meaningfully without a radical change in the way the Welsh language is taught in all schools in Wales.

In addition to this, the Government needs to recognise that the foundations for expanding equal access for people of all backgrounds to the Welsh language is fragile at the moment. For example, there is a lack of Welsh-speaking teachers being trained—only 250 a year, according to the most recent Government figures, compared with the 500 and more needed to deliver the objectives of 'Cymraeg 2050'. There are also the latest Universities and Colleges Admissions Service figures, which show a serious decline in the number of applicants in Wales for teacher training courses for the next academic year. There is a real risk that this will have a significant impact on the number of Welsh-speaking teachers over the short and long term.

We of course welcome the news about refugees, such as those from Ukraine, having the opportunity to learn Welsh through the Croeso i Bawb programme and the immersion centres, and we’ve been delighted to see that in the media and so on, and we’ve met some of those people and seen how they have been able to become part of the community and to contribute through the medium of Welsh; we’ve seen the excellent work done by the Urdd and so on. But does the Minister acknowledge the need to ensure that these aren’t temporary measures, and the importance of ensuring that everyone in Wales has an opportunity to take advantage of these resources?

In addition to this, we need to balance this good news with the context of the welcome centres for refugees closing across Wales. What impact will this decision to close the welcome centres for those from Ukraine have on their access to the Welsh language? Yes, the Welsh language belongs to everybody, but there is more that we can do to ensure that everyone has the right to learn and use the language too.

Thank you very much, Heledd Fychan, for your very important questions.

I just want to start by commenting on the bank holiday question. Of course, it’s not a devolved matter, but we’ve asked the UK Government on more than one occasion, as colleagues will know, to designate the day as a bank holiday, or give us the power to do so. Unfortunately, so far these requests have been rejected.

But it’s important that we recognise what is going to be happening on St David’s Day. It’s a time when we focus activities throughout Wales. We're focusing on mobilising communities tomorrow, here in Wales, to celebrate St David's Day. We're celebrating everything Welsh using the 'random acts of Welshness' social media campaign, so I hope everyone will engage with that. The campaign is a hwyl-filled social media celebration of our nation, and, of course, that showcases, as you've said, Heledd, the good things we do for each other, for our communities and for our world. In fact, all of your questions comment on those points—the good things that we do for each other, for our communities and for our world, because Wales is, and must be, a community of interconnected communities. I do believe that the statement today can help in terms of the contributions. It can help us and assist us, as a Welsh Government, in making Wales a community of communities. 

I think it is very important to recognise that 'Cymraeg 2050' is a strong commitment that our language belongs to us all, and we've been very clear that the Welsh Government is fully committed to the 'Cymraeg 2050' strategy. It has those aims to reach a million Welsh speakers, but also, equally crucial, doubling daily use of the language. I think my role—I thank you for recognising the importance of this connection with the social justice agenda, because when I've met with the Minister for Education and Welsh Language, as all my colleagues have in the Welsh Government, it has enabled us to look again at everything that we're doing and what we can do in terms of taking this forward. For me, it has been very much looking at it from a social justice perspective, in terms of, for example, migrant integration. We've commented on that in terms of our being a nation of sanctuary.

Migrant integration and inclusion are crucial, and if we actually recognise that Wales is currently home to around 200,000 migrants, these members of our community already converse in at least their second language, if not third or fourth. When migrants are speaking Welsh, it's a great illustration of community integration, and we are looking at how this can be supported and how we ensure that integration happens from day one.

I'm going, in a couple of weeks' time, to the Nation of Sanctuary Awards, and there are awards for learners of languages—one for the English language and the other for the Welsh language—and I do want to say today, Llywydd, that we remember and congratulate, in 2019, the Welsh learner award was won by Mohamad Karkoubi, who at the time lived in Aberystwyth—so I particularly mention it, Llywydd—with his wife and their three children after fleeing the civil war in their home country. He won the Welsh learner award. Mr Karkoubi, from Aleppo, has been learning Welsh twice a week since September, which has helped him in his job as a blacksmith in Tregaron. Mr Karkoubi said,

'I really enjoy learning Welsh. The language has helped me and my family to feel part of the community in which we live.'

I think this is where, clearly, the commitment to Welsh-medium education is crucially important, but there's a consultation on how we strengthen Welsh-speaking communities. You mentioned teaching. There's a 10-year plan to increase the number of Welsh-speaking teachers and funding for online taster courses for refugees and asylum seekers to learn Welsh without needing to be fluent in English. We have a lot to learn from those who are embracing, and engaging with, the Welsh language. There's funding to give young people the skills, qualifications and work experience to start a career in the Welsh-medium childcare sector, which, as you say, is so crucially important.

Just finally from me, in terms of Ukrainian refugees and integration within Welsh language communities, we have a team Wales effort. Yesterday, we had a wonderful event, where we were actually marking the grim milestone of the invasion of Ukraine by Putin, but we were there to, actually, acknowledge the fantastic generosity of host families and households over the last year, who've risen to help us support over 6,500 Ukrainians who now live in Wales. Many are working and their children are at school—they're learning Welsh—and, of course, we also are supporting them through not just our hosts, but through our welcome centres. Just to assure colleagues and to assure Heledd, from your question, that we are working—. We've closed many welcome centres over the last year. In fact, the first one we closed was the Urdd, and it was a natural closure after three, four months of intensive support, initial temporary support, and then to enable Ukrainians to move on. What an immersion in Welsh that was, in terms of the Urdd. But in all our welcome centres, we are providing that wraparound support and, indeed, as many of them have moved on out of welcome centres, they're certainly being closed in a sensitive way to ensure that everybody at a welcome centre has a home to move on to, and I can give that assurance here today.

But for them, as well, it'll be moving on into communities, into towns, cities and villages in Wales, into work and to continue with schools. But, as we know, so many of them, of course, look to the time when they might be able to return to Ukraine and to be with their families who they've left at home. But for many more, Wales is their home.

Can I just thank the Minister for her statement? Like the Minister, seeing communities come together at a time of need fills me with hope for the future. As we mark one year since the illegal invasion of Ukraine by the Russians, which caused displacement of many Ukrainian people who could no longer live in their country, I am also proud to see how communities across Wales have welcomed Ukrainian refugees into their homes and into their communities. It is important that Wales is a nation of sanctuary. Will the Minister join with me in congratulating Swansea on Swansea being a city of sanctuary and the support that's given to refugees in Swansea? I want to highlight just one example of kindness towards Ukrainian refugees in my own constituency, where the money collected in a local pub quiz at the Midland Hotel, Morriston was given to support Ukrainian children staying in a local hotel.

But, as we know, multilingualism is common in many countries, and also in communities across Wales, including in Swansea. I think the problem we've got is that we have the British view that there's only one language anybody needs to know, and that's English, and if they don't understand it first time, shout a bit louder. Does the Minister know the number of multilingual people we actually have in Wales?

Diolch yn fawr, Mike Hedges, and, yes, can I say how proud we are of Swansea as a city of sanctuary? We have other cities of sanctuary across Wales, including Cardiff, of course, but also, Holywell, I think, is a town of sanctuary. We've got town, community and county councils as well. But also, when I came to Swansea to congratulate the university and Gower College, who are also colleges and universities of sanctuary, and that, of course, has an impact on every aspect of life. And to congratulate those who raised that funding at the Midland Hotel event, raising money for families and children.

I think this is just, again, an example of the kindness and commitment to volunteering that takes place in Wales, the community of communities. It is about the ways in which people have responded to the invasion of Ukraine by Putin, by showing that support. But also, I hope today as a nation of sanctuary, we can all agree that we send a message of hope, solidarity and respect to our Ukrainian community members.

It is true that we're a multilingual nation. Let's recognise this today. I can't give you the exact figures in terms of the numbers and the languages that are spoken. I spoke of the 200,000 migrants that we have who converse in at least their second, third or fourth language. But can I just say, finally, that one of the goals of the 'Anti-racist Wales Action Plan' is to gain a better understanding of the lived experience of the 10,000 Welsh speakers from ethnic minority communities, to inform actions and interventions to eliminate racism in Wales? I think that is important, that we understand these connections today, and for me, as Minister for Social Justice, I'm very keen to, again, share with Members the 10,000 Welsh speakers from ethnic minority communities, as we celebrate those 10,000 people.

Thank you, Minister.