Written Statement: White Paper – Proposals for a Welsh Language Education Bill

Today, I am publishing a White Paper setting out proposals for a Welsh Language Education Bill. The Bill will take steps to enable all pupils in Wales to become confident Welsh speakers through the statutory education system.

The main proposals include:

• Reflecting the target of a million Welsh speakers in law;
• Creating a single Welsh language skills continuum to describe skill levels so that learners, teachers, parents and employers have a common understanding of the journey towards learning Welsh;
• Establishing a statutory system of categorising maintained schools according to language-medium;
• Over time, enhance Welsh language provision in maintained schools that are not already designated Welsh-medium schools;
• A requirement for the Welsh Ministers to create a statutory National Plan for the acquisition and learning of Welsh, and review it in each Senedd term;
• Reform how local authorities plan Welsh language provision in schools in order to meet targets set by the Welsh Ministers;
• Requirements on local authorities to proactively promote Welsh-medium education, including late immersion provision; and
• Providing specialist support for schools with Welsh language learning.

This is a significant step towards delivering the commitment in the Co-operation Agreement with Plaid Cymru to bring forward a Welsh Language Education Bill during the current Senedd term.

A copy of the White Paper along with the Integrated Impact Assessment and an outline of costs and impacts that will form the basis of a Regulatory Impact Assessment for a Welsh Language Education Bill can be accessed from the Welsh Government’s website.

The consultation will run for 12 weeks until 16 June 2023. Cymraeg belongs to us all, and as such I encourage everyone to consider our proposals. I look forward to hearing the views of a wide range of people.