‘Historic’ language bill passes in Senedd

Local TV

A new bill hoped to close the gap of Welsh speaking numbers across Wales has passed in the Senedd. The Welsh government say it’s part of their plans to get a million Welsh speakers by 2050, but in the last decade, little progress has been made.

Transcript

00:00The Senate has just passed a historic bill which is said to help get more school-aged children learning Welsh across the country

00:07and close the gap between Welsh speakers in different parts of Wales.

00:11The Welsh Language and Education Wales Bill made it through its final Senate vote,

00:15and according to the Welsh Government, is hoping to help make progress on their plans to get a million Welsh speakers in Wales by 2050.

00:23As part of the new bill, schools will be categorised into three groups,

00:26with primarily Welsh language teaching at least 80% in Welsh, dual language, which is at least 50%,

00:32and primarily English language, partly Welsh, teaching at least 10% in Welsh.

00:37The Welsh Government have said that they will continue to support schools to get more Welsh involved in lessons,

00:42with grants to increase the number of Welsh-speaking teachers and assistants,

00:45and provide Welsh lessons to teachers across the country.

00:49The Welsh Language Society, Cymdeithas Riaith, have said, though, that the plans do not go far enough,

00:54and wanted politicians in the Senedd to explore targeting all schools across Wales to eventually become predominantly Welsh language.

01:01Welsh Language Minister Mark Drakeford said that our language belongs to all of us,

01:05and this bill gives children and young people a better chance to become Welsh speakers,

01:09bringing us closer to our aim of one million Welsh speakers in Wales,

01:13and as a Senedd, they have created an important, far-reaching bill that will enable every child to become a confident Welsh speaker.

01:19Tory Tom Giffard said that his party was in favour of the aims of the bill,

01:25and said that if parents across Wales wanted their children to learn Welsh,

01:28then they should be given the opportunity through school.

01:32Currently, around 23% of pupils are taught through Welsh, with little progress over the last decade or so,

01:37so politicians will hope that this is a catalyst on the way to a million Welsh speakers.

01:41James Beach Watkins, reporting for Local TV.

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