Category Archives: Dyfodol

THE WELSH LANGUAGE DESERVES BETTER: DYFODOL CALLS FOR BUDGET REVIEW

Reply

Dyfodol i’r Iaith has reacted angrily to the latest budget announcement. It became apparent that the Welsh language will receive no further funding during 2020-21 as indicated in the Welsh Language Minister’s paper. Dyfodol i’r Iaith suggests that this falls far short of the funding levels necessary to reach the Government’s own target of a million Welsh speakers.

Heini Gruffudd, the organisation’s Chair said:

‘Although the Minister’s paper deals with many of the essential action points, the absence of extra funding means that the situation will remain static or deteriorate. The language targets call for careful planning and long-tern investment, but instead of that, it seems that the language remains a peripheral concern which has again been neglected.

The Government will shortly appoint a language expert to lead its language planning programme and we call upon whoever is appointed to undertake an urgent needs assessment, noting the level of funding that will be necessary.

We believe that priority must be given to teaching Welsh in the workplace – particularly in the fields of childcare, education and local government. Then we must have an ambitious programme of community projects to facilitate Welsh-speakers to use their language within their various communities.

We are also concerned that there is no capital funding available for the Welsh language, and priority also needs to be given to the support of Welsh Language Centres, and this will not be possible without capital aid.’

This year, the organisation will be pressing for adequate funding to support a comprehensive programme aimed at planning the regeneration of the language and will be working with the Government to ensure this.

DRAFT BUDGET 2020 – 21: DYFODOL’S RESPONSE

Reply

Following the draft Budget, Dyfodol i’r Iaith are calling the Welsh Government to reveal more information regarding expenditure on the Welsh language. The organization specifically wishes to know how the language will take its place within the Government’s various plans, and in particular:

  • Childcare: how will the Government ensure adequate language training for providers?
  • Further education: the same question applies – how will the Government provide adequate language training and support for students who will be staying in Wales and contributing to the local economy?

Heini Gruffudd, the organization’s Chair said:

“Dyfodol i’r Iaith will press for further financial details regarding these matters, since these are the very areas which will provide a firm basis for using the Welsh language within education, the community and the workplace.”

 

THE NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK:

Reply

Dyfodol i’r Iaith is convinced that the proposed National Planning Framework can make a key contribution to the Welsh Government’s laudable aim of creating a million Welsh speakers by 2050.

 

We welcome specific aspects of the draft document, such as the emphasis on affordable housing, the cautious development of rural areas and the central importance of the Well-being of Future Generations Act. We are also satisfied to note that the responsibility for Welsh Language impact assessments now rests with the Local Authorities.

 

The Overview and point 4 within the Results section are promising in that they acknowledge the importance of the Welsh language to Planning process. However, the language receives no mention as part of the checklist of considerations for Strategic Planning Schemes.

 

Dyfodol i’r Iaith therefore calls upon the Welsh Government to ensure that the following considerations are included in the final version of the National Planning Framework, so that flourishing Welsh-language communities continue to survive in 2050: –

 

  • The allocation of a western Region, which includes all counties containing communities where more than 25% of the population speak Welsh. A number pf County Councils have designated a baseline of 25% Welsh speakers as communities where the effects of house building needs to be assessed. Dyfodol i’r Iaith wants this principle in relation to such communities to be an integral part of the National Development Framework.

 

  • Revise all levels of the Planning system, ensuring that the Welsh Government works in equal partnership with the Local Authorities. Each Local Authority with communities of 25% Welsh speakers or above should, in turn, work with Community Councils and local Mentrau Iaith in deciding what developments would be suitable for these areas.

 

  • In each community with more that 25% of Welsh speakers, consideration should be given to the following:

[a] the number of empty houses

[b] birth and death rates over the previous decade

[c] the in and out migration patterns over the previous decade when allocating, within Local Development Plans, the number and location of homes to be built.

 

  • We would also call for the Welsh Language Commissioner to be given the same Statutory Consultee status as other environmental and sustainability organisations to protect and promote the Welsh language. This extra responsibility would, of course, entail developing the expertise within the Commissioner’s office.

 

  • Finally, we would wish to see The National Development Framework adopt the key principle of prioritising the effect of “land use “on local inhabitants and the Welsh language to support the aims of the Welsh Government.