Item 4 is a statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Energy and Welsh language on 'Cymraeg 2050' and priorities. I call on the Cabinet Secretary, Jeremy Miles. 

The Welsh language is relevant and central to all aspects of society, and it is incumbent on all of us to protect it and to ensure its growth. That means that every one of us in the Welsh Government and our stakeholders have a role in this.

My first priority for the Welsh language is ensuring that everyone in Wales—children, young people and adults—gets a fair chance to become Welsh speakers. We are about to present a Bill to the Senedd that calls for transformational changes to the way we think about the Welsh language and education so that everyone can become Welsh speakers. The white paper sets out the steps we propose to enable all pupils in Wales to become independent and confident Welsh speakers through the statutory education system and a way to recognise Welsh language skills and make the journey from school to the workplace that much easier. 

The concept of describing Welsh language proficiency levels and of continuous improvement to transform outcomes for Cymraeg will be central to the Bill. Having one language continuum will mean that learners, teachers, parents and employers will have a common understanding of the journey towards becoming Welsh speakers, and that they are proud of the skills that they’ve developed. We’ll also increase Welsh language provision in early years settings, to give children more chances to have contact with Welsh as early as possible. We will continue to work to increase the number of Welsh-medium schools, too. Expanded access to more Welsh language opportunities for more people is my vision, and education is central to this. I very much look forward to working with my colleague the Cabinet Secretary for Education, Lynne Neagle, in that regard.

My second priority is to look at the situation of our language in our communities. I’ve been fortunate enough to bring the Welsh language from my previous portfolio to my current one. Bringing the Welsh language and the economy together provides an unprecedented opportunity for us, and I’ll be looking at economic policy, skills schemes, funding sources, all through the Welsh language lens. This also means that I’ll be looking at the economy alongside housing, town planning, community development, social enterprise and transport. All of these things provide the infrastructure that will drive forward the economic development of our Welsh-speaking communities. I’ll be working with those communities and businesses across Wales to increase the use of the Welsh language, ensuring their sustainability for the future and making them attractive places to live and work. 

It’s an opportunity to continue with things that we were already doing, such as Arfor, an economic programme that aims to support the Welsh language as well as strengthening the economy in the west of Wales. I’m also looking forward to hearing the results of the Commission for Welsh-speaking Communities's deliberations later this year. As I said at the beginning of my role as Minister for the Welsh language, it is important to challenge each other and to look in-depth at the situation of the language, and not to shy away from trying new things.

I’ve always thought of language policy as something that is cross-cutting, like equality, climate change and so on. I think there’s an opportunity now to look at our language in communities and local economies in a more integrated way than before. We’ll base all of this—and much more—on evidence. The 2021 census provides us with a snapshot of what’s happened over the last 10 years. We are looking at those results in detail, alongside other statistics and research that are available to us. And we’ve commissioned a detailed three-year sociolinguistic survey, namely Prosiect Bro. We expect the findings by the end of 2026, and the aim is to gain a better understanding of where Welsh is at a community level. This will help us to understand what needs to be done to protect Welsh-speaking communities, but 2026 can feel far away. So, Prosiect Bro will also support the work of the Commission for Welsh-speaking Communities and provide a vital component of its final report.

My third priority is language transmission. We're already implementing a policy on language transmission in families, as well as recognising the role of new speakers as they pass on their Welsh skills to their future children. But we can't rely solely on family transmission anymore. We have to better understand how young people who speak the language communicate with each other, and how they transmit the language among each other. We must also look at transmission within communities, to create opportunities to speak and to enjoy the language.

Technology is a silver thread that runs through all of these areas. Today, therefore, I’ve published a call for information so that we can talk to people all over Wales and beyond to get their input into what we’re doing for Welsh language technology in the future. All of us use technology in one way or another, and increasingly we’re seeing artificial intelligence being used in more situations too. Both these things can play an important role in increasing the use of the Welsh language, and I want technology to help people to use more of their Welsh.

Since we published our Welsh language technology action plan in 2018, we’ve invested £2.5 million in creating and working on many of the digital components that are vital for our language. As of today, this includes our new partnership with OpenAI to improve how ChatGPT works in Welsh. And I’m looking forward to seeing what the next developments will be.

All of these areas are key to the future of the language—a future that gives every child and adult a fair chance to become a Welsh Speaker, policies that strengthen the economy and protect our Welsh-speaking communities, and recognising the importance of language transmission in families, in our communities and workplaces. To make this a reality, we must all play our part together.

Thank you, Cabinet Secretary, for your statement and for the priorities that you have outlined today. As the new Welsh language spokesperson, I look forward to working with you.

We can all agree that the Welsh language is an important symbol and represents our nation, and therefore we can also agree that a great deal of work and effort is needed to keep the language alive. I think that we could also all agree that it's vital that we have appropriate and effective methods of measuring progress against the Government's targets, the ability of Welsh speakers and the rate at which the number of Welsh speakers is increasing. 

We know that the annual population survey is one way of measuring progress, but as I said previously, it isn't a robust reflection of the ability or numbers of Welsh speakers. The data of the Education Workforce Council doesn't provide a clearer picture either. The number of registered teachers that can speak Welsh has declined since 2019, and the number of registered teachers that are unable to educate through the medium of Welsh has increased also. The Estyn surveys in 2022-2023 drew attention to the fact that the number of people completing their initial teacher training through the medium of Welsh is far lower than the Welsh Government target. Data from the previous census showed the number of speakers from the age of three and above had fallen from 562,000 in 2011 to 538,000 in 2021. This should ring alarm bells for Welsh Ministers, bearing in mind that they're basing the target on the 2011 target.

I would note, Cabinet Secretary, that having one robust target of 1 million Welsh speakers isn't enough, but we need more focus on the increase in the number of Welsh speakers. So, Cabinet Secretary, what has the Welsh Government put in place in terms of monitoring progress with regard to the number of Welsh speakers towards 2050? Do you believe it would be better to measure progress in five-year periods, for example, to ensure that we're on the right track? And what plan is in place to ensure that Wales gets back on track, if the Government fails to hit its target? At the time when the target was set, the education Minister, Kirsty Williams, said:

'The Welsh Government's knowledge and analytical services developed a projection for the number of Welsh speakers up to 2050, based on data from the 2011 census.'

So, although I agree that this is the best way of measuring the progress in terms of increasing the number of Welsh speakers, we could argue that the rationale for a target is now dated. This demonstrates that the Welsh Government hasn't found a robust metric to measure progress.

We should also note that, since 2017, when 'Cymraeg 2050' was set as a target, responsibilities have been spread across different Government portfolios. At one time, the responsibilities were held by a stand-alone Minister, and then the education Minister, and now we see that the responsibility lies with the economy portfolio. This could suggest, Cabinet Secretary, that the Welsh Government, for years, hasn't been able to place the Welsh language in a specific category and has passed responsibilities for the Welsh language between different ministerial offices, which has left it without a great deal of consistency, structure or definition. It leaves the Welsh language as responsibility without a firm foundation or evidence base. I believe if the Welsh Government of any political stripe is to make the Welsh language a priority, it shouldn't be throwing it from portfolio to portfolio. Cabinet Secretary, bearing in mind that responsibility for the Welsh language isn't consistent, and with a lack of robust methods of measuring progress, how does the Welsh Government intend to achieve the 2050 target?

And one further target that I wanted to close on is using the Welsh language in the community. It's important that the Welsh language isn't solely used in the classroom, to tick boxes to demonstrate the increase in the number of speakers; it should rather be used in everyday life. So, what support has the Welsh Government provided to communities and groups to ensure that it's easy to use the Welsh language in our communities and that there are resources available that are easily accessible? How can you be sure, Cabinet Secretary, that it will be easy to hit the 2050 target of 1 million Welsh speakers, and that the language isn't left to die, alongside the other policies that you have withdrawn? Thank you.

Well, thank you to Tom Giffard for those questions, and I welcome him to his new portfolio responsibilities.

Well, it's not true to say that the Government doesn't have a yardstick to assess whether we're on track for reaching our target. The data source that we have used from the outset, and continue to use, is the census results. That's why we are having regular discussions in this Chamber on the reduction that we saw in the most recent figures, and that is a fair challenge from Members, including what Tom Giffard has just said. But it's also true to say that that doesn't give you the complete picture. He's referred to the annual surveys and other data sources. We are currently working with the ONS in order to discover why, for the first time, I believe, the trend in the census shows something that is so dramatically different to the trend in the population surveys. The surveys also fill a gap, by the way, in terms of what the census measures—that is, the use of the Welsh language. The census doesn't measure use. And he finished on a point that I agree with him on, which is that that's hugely important, so the annual surveys do show how much use is made of the Welsh language.

So, the data sources are clear. We do have to look in future, by the way, at a world where there won't be a census. We know that how the UK Government generates data and uses data changes, and that's quite proper in terms of the changes and the sources available to us, so if we do enter a period where there is no census, it is right to say that at that point we will need to agree on another data source so that people can scrutinise Government on our objectives.

But it's not just results for every 10 years that we have. The trajectory—and he quoted Kirsty Williams and the work that KAS has been feeding into—that trajectory shows where we move from where we are today to 2050 is something that is consistently reviewed, and we're currently doing that as a result of the most recent census results. You will also see when we introduce the Welsh in education Bill that there are specific proposals in that Bill in order to tackle that issue. 

And in terms of where the Welsh language sits within ministerial responsibilities within Government, that's a matter for the First Minister, but at one level there is a practical challenge. It might be ideal that the individual responsible for the Welsh language is a Welsh Speaker; that's not necessary, but it might be advantageous, and that might steer that choice in practical terms. But just to give some comfort and assurance to the Member in terms of how the Government organises the civil service, the placing of the Welsh language Division has been consistent. We have a director general who has specific responsibility for the Welsh language in her title. So, behind the scenes, that does provide consistency. I think that there's a positive way of looking at this. If you combine the Welsh language with education and the economy, and at other times with other responsibilities, it provides new opportunities from time to time to look at that particular policy area through a Welsh language lens. So, I would describe that as a positive. 

In terms of the Member's final question in terms of the support in increasing usage, I agree with him that it's usage, usage, usage that are the main priorities for us, to ensure that we see the language in action. I can assure him that most of my budget in terms of my responsibilities over the Welsh language are focused in one way or another on supporting usage, including through funding bodies and partners at arm's length to do that with us too.

Thank you, Cabinet Secretary, for your statement today. Three crucial priorities, and ones that it would be very difficult to oppose. I'm happy to support them, although I would note that Plaid Cymru's ambition for Welsh-medium education for all goes further than the Cabinet Secretary's statement. He used the words 'contact with Welsh', whereas we would argue that immersion in the Welsh language is the best way to achieve these objectives.

But, of course, it's one thing to set priorities; it's another thing entirely to deliver them. In that regard, there are a few questions that I would like you to answer today. One word that was missing from your statement today was 'workforce', because, after all, if the Welsh education Bill that we have co-operated on as two parties is to succeed, or if we are to increase the number of Welsh-medium schools and increase the Welsh language provision in early-years settings, the workforce will be entirely crucial. Clearly, the Welsh Government has the Welsh in education workforce plan, but looking at it and comparing the contents of it with the provision that we need to have in place, it's difficult to see how we can deliver the kind of growth that we need. After all, we know that we are losing teachers from the sector, and we aren't delivering the numbers that we need to have in training. So, do you intend to look again at this plan in the context of the Bill?

Another matter that I have raised with you consistently is the number of pupils taking A-level Welsh, and the fact that that number is in decline, and is nowhere near the 1,000 per annum target set by the Government a few years ago. So, what work are you doing with the Cabinet Secretary for Education to reverse this trend? And, certainly, also, in terms of looking at the Seren scheme and the number of students leaving Wales now, how are we ensuring that they continue to study the Welsh language if they study beyond Wales, and then also return here? It is concerning to see the number of students leaving Wales.

In terms of increasing the daily use of Welsh, there was another missing word, namely 'apprenticeships'. I'm sure that you will share the view that there is a strong connection between increasing use of the language and the need to develop bilingual workforces, and the fact that apprenticeships are now part of the same portfolio as the Welsh language provides an opportunity to enhance the opportunities available in Welsh in the post-16 sector. And you will, of course, be familiar with the work done by the Welsh Language Commissioner in this area, and the work, of course, of the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol. So, can you confirm that the funding increase that was reprofiled for the coleg Cymraeg from this year's budget to the 2025-26 budget still stands?

And also, looking at the use of the Welsh language, we have had several discussions and debates in this Siambr in terms of extending standards—banking is a clear area, of course. One thing that strikes me, as leaflets from political parties come through my door, is the use of the Welsh language on electoral leaflets and pamphlets. Not all parties provide them bilingually. I'm sure that you will be aware of some members of your party who don't believe that the Welsh language needs to be used on some of those communications. What kind of message does that send in terms of normalising use of the Welsh language? I know that the language of the pamphlet wouldn't change the way that I'll vote on 4 July—

Me neither.

For what it's worth. [Laughter.]

But, for a number people, it does demonstrate disrespect if the Welsh language doesn't appear on the pamphlet, and, as Sioned Williams said now, the status of the Welsh language too—we can't just use the Welsh language if we think it's going to be beneficial in an election. And I think the same thing is true of businesses. We need to normalise use of the Welsh language, that people might want to access those services in the language of their choice—it's not optional.

I also welcomed your reference to the importance of technology and artificial intelligence. The fact that I found it difficult to think what 'artificial intelligence' is in Welsh speaks for itself; we tend to use 'AI'. But young people today—. It normalises use, and, if it isn't available in Welsh, they're less likely to adopt this technology through the medium of Welsh. So, it is vitally important that we consider that.

Now, there is a cross-party sense here in this Senedd of the importance of the Welsh language and the need to see this working, but we need more than words, we need action, and I'm concerned that we are in danger of missing these targets that Tom Giffard mentioned. We are falling behind.

I hope that you will take these as constructive questions in terms of reaching where we all want to get to, but it's also how we ensure that you have the resources as the Cabinet Secretary and as Government to deliver what we need to deliver to make progress on these three priorities and make them a reality.

Those questions are fair enough, and I accept the spirit in which they were asked. I agree with the Member. She started with immersion. One of the things that I am most proud of during my period as education Minister with responsibility for the Welsh language is the investment in immersion, and that happens in all parts of Wales. All local authorities have benefited from that. Everyone is at a different stage of their journey, but it is entirely clear to me that every local authority in Wales is seeing the benefit of this and sees that they are on a path to making provision, and this will be referred to in the Bill when that is introduced.

In terms of workforce, that is a challenge. That's why I would argue that it's right for Plaid Cymru to set a target, but you also have to have a means of delivering that target. And workforce is one of those challenges. We've known that for years. We can't force people to choose teaching as a career. We can't force people to choose to teach through the medium of Welsh. The workforce plan is creative, I would argue. It is one that has been co-produced by people across all kinds of sectors. So, it isn't something that lacks challenge or creativity, and, if Members have alternative ideas, I'm certain that the Cabinet Secretary and myself would be interested in hearing those new ideas. I know that there is a commitment in the plan to report on progress every two years, and that will happen on that cycle. Developments like e-sgol can mean that we do provide access to A-level Welsh. It's important that people study that. It's a crucial way of ensuring that we have enough students studying the Welsh language at university so that they can move into teaching, so I agree with the Member on the importance of that.

She referred to the work of Seren, and I think that that's something that we can all be proud of, that we're using the Seren programme to ensure that pupils can study wherever works for them. It is right to say that there is an important opportunity for us to ensure that we maintain a relationship with those students who leave Wales to study. The Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol has launched a scheme to do that, specifically in the context of education, but that could be used more broadly too, and I personally would welcome that. I can provide the Member with an assurance that the plan is still in place to reprofile resources for the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol also.

In terms of resources in my own department, I think there have been increases in recent years in terms of the budget for the Welsh language, and that's important. It ensures that we can invest in immersion, that we can invest in financial incentives to attract people into teaching, that we can invest in technology too. So, it's used in many different ways.

The final point that I would make is in terms of standards. I accept the argument in one way; I myself don't think that that's the thing that will make the greatest difference in terms of the progress of the Welsh language, but standards do have a role to play to ensure that usage is normalised, so I accept that in general terms. I do think that we have a sensible programme in place for stretching the reach of standards. We have a programme that will continue until the next election, and if we deliver that, as I expect us to do, then that will significantly extend the reach of standards into elements of public life, so it would be a responsibility of the Government formed in the next Senedd to plan a further programme at that point. I would have thought that the kinds of suggestions that the Member has made today are things that a new Government would want to look at at that point.

I welcome the statement by the Cabinet Secretary. First of all, could the Cabinet Secretary explain what he means by '1 million Welsh speakers'? Is it a million in Wales or a million in Great Britain, because there are a number of Welsh speakers who have moved to England, particularly London, to work? Do I count, because I'm not fluent but I speak Welsh every day? Does the Cabinet Secretary agree that the best way of increasing the number of Welsh speakers is to support Ti a Fi and the Mudiad Metihrin?

In a community where 80 per cent speak Welsh, four in five people you meet will speak Welsh. In one where it's 60 per cent, it will be three in five, and in one with 40 per cent, it will be two in five. In the first community, Welsh is the natural language of the community—mynd i Gaernarfon. In the second, fel Abertawe, the natural language is English. How do we get more of these super-Welsh-speaking areas, because that's where you get the language in use?

I thank Mike Hedges for those questions. I can confirm that, in light of the fact that the census is the data source for measuring a million Welsh speakers, anyone who responds to the census and responds to say that they do speak Welsh would fall within the target. That means that many people who live outwith the UK who can speak Welsh aren't included in those figures, and we know that people are learning the language internationally, including on Welsh Government supported schemes. So, when I was living in London for a time, I could respond to the census and say that I was a Welsh Speaker and would contribute towards that target. I do agree with him that investment in the early years is crucially important in order to ensure that we provide opportunities for children and their parents to begin that journey through the medium of Welsh, so that investment is hugely important. One of the elements that Prosiect Bro, which I referred to in my statement, is looking at is how the Welsh language is developing, and what are the patterns, within areas where the densities of speakers are higher and lower, so the kinds of examples that the Member mentioned in his questions are pertinent here, and looking at what socioeconomic influences do have an impact on speaker density and changes in those profiles. I'm expecting a report later this year from the Commission for Welsh-speaking Communities, which, I hope, will demonstrate what patterns are in place and, with that kind of data and evidence, we will be able to respond to his final question in terms of how we can increase the density of Welsh speakers in our communities.

And finally, Carolyn Thomas.

Thank you, Dirprwy Lywydd. Sorry, I'm learning Welsh. I speak a little bit.

There are many countries interested in Wales and the Welsh language, and I think that's growing through sport—the kind of publicity that Wrexham football club is receiving—through music, arts and culture, and hearing 'Mae hen wlad fy nhadau', 'Yma o Hyd' and 'Calon Lan' has fostered a sense of pride, I believe, and a desire to be part of the Welsh-speaking and Welsh-singing community as well, which is really important. 

So, I'm learning Welsh,

and I keep saying to my Welsh teacher that I don't need to be fluent; I just want to be able to converse and understand and to take part when I can. I learnt Italian through immersion in the language and necessity when I lived over there, but I wasn't grammatically correct until I did my GCSE on return to this country. So, Cabinet Secretary, we have this target, and so many people will still be on their first steps on the continuum of the journey, so can you outline how we actually define a Welsh Speaker? [Laughter.]

Well, the Member makes a point that is at the forefront of many people's lives as they learn a new language, including those who learn Welsh, and, to be fair to the Member, it is part of the discussion that we've been having for decades in terms of what a Welsh Speaker is, and this idea that you have to have some measure of fluency in Welsh to define yourself as a Welsh speaker, but those days are long gone. The Welsh language belongs to us all, and you don't need to be fluent in the way that the Member mentioned in order to feel that warmth towards the Welsh language and have that idea that the Welsh language belongs to us all.

In terms of what constitutes a Welsh speaker, the census asks an individual to make that decision for himself or herself as to whether they are a Welsh speaker, so it's a personal decision, and it can be a complex decision, which relates to people's identity very often, but one of the things that we will have an opportunity to do in introducing new legislation is to provide some context around that in order to provide comfort and support to people to ensure that they understand that they don't have to have that level of proficiency or full fluency before they can describe themselves as a Welsh speaker. What's important is that we encourage people to use the skills that they have—a little every day, if that's what they have—and to learn more and more as they go, so that we are on that trajectory.

I thank the Cabinet Secretary.