If he will make a statement on the application of the Welsh language Act 1993 to the work of (a) central Government Departments and (b) other public bodies.

Government Departments are not required to have a Welsh language scheme. However, it is our practice to observe the principle that, in the conduct of Public Business in Wales, the Welsh and English languages should be treated on a basis of equality. Public bodies that provide services in Wales can be required by the Welsh Language Board to prepare a Welsh language scheme.

I thank the Minister for his answer and I am grateful for the fact that he supports the Welsh language Act, notwithstanding the fact that Rhodri Morgan and others voted against it at the time. Does the Minister acknowledge that there are many people such as myself, who had a Welsh-speaking mother, who would dearly love to learn the language that was originally the British language? Will he join me in praising organisations such as the many Wlpans, and Nant Gwrtheyrn on the Llyn peninsula, which provide training of that kind?

I congratulate all those who have been part of the remarkably successful turnaround in the fortunes of the Welsh language. It now plays a more prominent role in our national life than at any time in living memory. According to the 2001 census, 21 per cent. of the population of Wales can now speak Welsh, compared with 19 per cent. in 1991. Twenty-six per cent. of people under 35 can now speak Welsh, an increase of nine percentage points on 1991. In 2006, Welsh will also appear on all UK passports.

Does my hon. Friend agree that we have demonstrated a commitment to the Welsh language, with even more people speaking it and being encouraged to speak it, without feeling that their Government and the people who look after them are not interested in it? Since 2003, the Assembly has invested £28 million in achieving the goal of a truly bilingual Wales and I think that we should applaud that.

I totally agree with my hon. Friend. Some of those who argue for a new Welsh language Act should be very careful. The reason that the language has had this renaissance is that the existing legislation is not prescriptive and places no statutory requirements on the private sector. Those who argue for new provisions should be careful, because trying to impose such statutory requirements on private businesses would be detrimental to the progress that we have made.

Following the chaos surrounding the Department for Culture, Media and Sport's failure to produce a Welsh version of the licensing application form, will the Minister consider including in his bluffer's guide to devolution—which I understand he is circulating among his Cabinet colleagues—an idiot's guide to the Welsh language Act, so that no further abuse by central Government of the Welsh language can take place?

There was certainly no abuse by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport in relation to the Licensing Act 2003. It worked very productively with the Welsh language Board, over a very short period, to address that particular problem. Currently, nine Government Departments have approved schemes, and the Department for Constitutional Affairs and Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs are actively preparing schemes in consultation with the Welsh Language Board. The board has issued notifications to a further three Departments—the Department of Health, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Central Office of Information—to bring forward Welsh language schemes.

Why did the chairman of the Welsh language Board write that it

"would be better to keep a number of decisions relating to language policy at arm's length from the Government"?

Is it because Rhodri Morgan's plans to absorb the Wales Tourist Board, the Welsh Language Board and the Welsh Development Agency are in tatters? Despite the rude response thrown back at the Secretary of State, will the Minister again give Rhodri Morgan the helpful advice to think long and hard before proceeding?

The hon. Gentleman might not agree with the proposal to bring the Welsh language Board within the direct remit of the Welsh Assembly Government, but colleagues on the Labour Benches and on the other side of the House want to end the quango state in Wales. That is part of that programme. Bringing the work of developing and promoting the language into the Welsh Assembly Government will ensure that that is mainstreamed across all aspects of government and activity in Wales.

Why does the Minister not agree that Rhodri Morgan's plans are in tatters? The Minister talks about the quango state, but the Assembly voted to send back the plans for the Welsh language Board until the functions were properly explained. Jane Hutt refused to confirm whether the Wales Tourist Board will be replaced by a Welsh Assembly Department for tourism and leisure, and recently the Secretary of State told Hywel Williams that the Welsh language is in better health than it has been for a long time. I hope that it is in better health than the people of Wales, as the number of fluent Welsh speakers is only just larger than the number of people on health waiting lists.

Those are obviously matters for the Welsh Assembly Government, but they have made it absolutely clear that the merger is there to strengthen the support for the language across government in Wales and to improve democratic accountability. The motion that the Tories, Plaid Cymru and the Liberal Democrats supported, in some unholy alliance, only asked the Assembly Government to do what they intended to do in any case—that is, deal appropriately with the regulatory functions of the Welsh language Board.