The draft Welsh in Education Strategic Plans (Wales) Regulations 2013

In December 2011 local authorities submitted their first Welsh in Education Strategic Plans (WESPs) to the Welsh Government to detail how each authority will achieve the outcomes and targets set out in the Welsh-medium Education Strategy.

These WESPs  which were prepared and submitted on a voluntary basis being non-statutory at the time provide the means for the Welsh Government to monitor the way in which local authorities respond and contribute to the implementation of the Welsh-medium Education Strategy.

The National Assembly passed the Schools Standards and Organisation (Wales) Act (external link) in January 2013. The Act seeks to build upon the current non-statutory WESPs by moving them to a statutory footing.The Act will place a duty upon local authorities to consult on produce and publish a Welsh in Education Strategic Plan that will be submitted for approval of and monitoring by Welsh Ministers. These will be 3 year plans and reviewed on an annual basis.

Section 85 requires local authorities to prepare and submit a Welsh in Education Plan for approval or modification by Welsh Ministers. Sections 86 and 87 provides a power for Welsh Ministers to make provision by way of regulations in relation to:

• assessing the demand for Welsh-medium education
• the duration of a Welsh in Education Strategic Plan (WESP)
• its form and content
• its submission to the Welsh Ministers for approval
• the timing of its publication
• the manner of its publication
• the consultation on it
• its review
• the report on implementation of the WESP (or revised WESP).

This consultation seeks views on the 2013 Regulations set out below.