Category Archives: Housing

STEPS IN RIGHT DIRECTION

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Dyfodol i’r Iaith has welcomed the deal struck between Labour and Plaid Cymru. The organisation is pleased to note that a commitment to ensure the growth of the Welsh language has again been confirmed and that the document includes several steps in the right direction regarding Welsh language policies.

Heini Gruffudd, Dyfodol’s Chair said:

“It is good to see that the agreement includes a number of measures aimed at regenerating the Welsh language and that this, it would appear, is part of the overall vision for the next three years.

We welcome confirmation that the problem of second homes is being taken seriously and, likewise the measures regarding the expansion of Welsh language education and ensuring that Welsh history receives its due attention within the Curriculum.

There are also measures which are key to supporting the growth of the language: Acknowledgement of the importance of the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol and the National Centre for Learning Welsh, for example, in addition to developing the Arfor project and a new emphasis on media and culture that is specific and appropriate to Wales. We also welcome the intention to expand and facilitate the Welsh Language Standards and the conservation of Welsh place names.

In welcoming all these proposals, we must however ensure that the document represents much more than fair words and goodwill. We must continue to insist that all of the measures which offer support to the language remain high on the agenda and are adequately funded and resourced.”

 

IEUAN WYN JONES’S COMMENTS CONFIRM THE NEED FOR AN

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Following Ieuan Wyn Jones’s comments in his book on his political career, Dyfodol i’r Iaith calls again for the establishment of an arms’-length Body to plan the future of the Welsh language.

According to Dyfodol i’r Iaith, extensive areas require urgent attention. The Government seems to be increasingly aware of the need for action on housing and the economy, the need to develop local communities, but implementation is lacking

Heini Gruffudd, Chair of Dyfodol i’r Iaith, said, “The lack of holistic planning is clear. The Welsh-medium education targets are becoming increasingly inadequate, there is a clear lack of funding to develop Welsh language learning for adults and in the workplace. The programme to teach Welsh to teachers is insufficient, with talk of introducing 60-hour courses, where 600-hour ones are needed.

“The establishment of an arm’s length body, with permanent specialist staff, who will be able to create a complete ongoing programme, to be accepted by various Government departments, is long overdue. Such a body would be able to give creative direction to language planning in Wales, with an emphasis on families and the community. It will be able to promote effectively and freely, and create plans over a long term. With intelligent regulation, and working with the Government’s Welsh Department, it will be possible to create robust conditions for the prosperity of the Welsh language.

“We look forward to discussing this with the Government, which, in all good faith, is slow in driving things forward.”

https://nation.cymru/culture/wales-needs-a-new-body-to-promote-welsh-says-ex-deputy-first-minister/

DISCUSSION PROVIDES AN OPPORTUNITY TO RESET THE AGENDA FOR THE WELSH LANGUAGE.

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Dyfodol i’r Iaith welcomes the discussions currently taking place between Labour and Plaid Cymru and hopes that this will provide an opportunity to reset the agenda in terms of policies to support the Welsh language.

Heini Gruffudd, the organisation’s Chair said:

“We will be encouraging both parties to regard these discussions as an opportunity to consider the true needs of the Welsh language in order to meet the target of creating a million Welsh speakers.”

Among their priorities, the organisation calls upon both parties to:

  • Elevate the status of the Welsh Language Division within Government
  • Extend Welsh language medium education and introduce an ambitious Welsh language training programme for education workers
  • Draw up a Planning policy which protects the language and addresses the housing crisis
  • Act urgently to implement the recommendations of Dr Simon Brooks’s report on
  • Develop the Arfor scheme which aims to promote Welsh and develop the economy of the language’s heartlands
  • Extend the use of the Welsh language within the workplace
  • Strengthen the language’s status within the private sector

And finally, and with no cost implications at all –

  • Increase the use of the Welsh language within the Senedd, including leaders and ministers.