, Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
General ministerial scrutiny: The Welsh Language
Yes, I'm sure that that is the case. There are many different ways to measure these things. We've done a great deal of work with the Bro project, which provides other ways for us to ask the questions, and to understand the responses that we receive. What's…
, Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
General ministerial scrutiny: The Welsh Language
'Do I speak Welsh? I'm going to say "no", because that's the safe answer. I won't be prosecuted for saying I don't speak it', or you fear you might be if someone came and tested you and found you weren't a chapel deacon after all. So, the more formal the…
, Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
General ministerial scrutiny: The Welsh Language
Well, I'm sure we could get to a point where the data are more robust, but the data will still be something that people can argue the point on. There isn't just one response to the question 'do you speak Welsh?' So, we do know, through the work that we've…
, Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
General ministerial scrutiny: The Welsh Language
Thank you very much, Chair. That work is ongoing. We have published the report on the first phase of the work that we did with the ONS. There are two reports about to be completed. I don’t now think that the ONS will be able to publish those before the end of…
, Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
General ministerial scrutiny: The Welsh Language
Well, thank you very much, Chair. I listened yesterday to the Welsh Language Commissioner on the radio presenting her five-year report, and, truth be told, I am content to echo what she said about the current position of the Welsh language in the context that…
, Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
General ministerial scrutiny: The Welsh Language
Diolch yn fawr, Cadeirydd. Mark Drakeford, Ysgrifennydd y Cabinet dros Gyllid a'r Gymraeg.
, Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Arfor: Ministerial evidence session
I do think sometimes we under-appreciate how special Wales looks to people from outside, because we're here all the time and we see it all the time, don't we? But sometimes that sense of identity, that Wales is not just another anonymous spot on the face of a…
, Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Arfor: Ministerial evidence session
Just one thing.
, Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Arfor: Ministerial evidence session
Yes, well, that was the initial intention of Arfor: to persuade people of the fact that the Welsh language is something that can create opportunities in terms of the economy. It is one of our strengths, not something that is in the way in terms of us making…
, Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Arfor: Ministerial evidence session
And just to say that the debate that Mick was pointing to is an international debate, not just a Welsh debate. If you look at other parts of the world where a lesser used language sits cheek by jowl with a dominant language, whether that's Estonian and…
, Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Arfor: Ministerial evidence session
I was just thinking about a point that Mick raised.
, Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Arfor: Ministerial evidence session
Yes, of course.
, Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Arfor: Ministerial evidence session
Well, I want to go back to the point that Mick raised. So, do you want to go to Gareth first?
, Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Arfor: Ministerial evidence session
There are two lessons for me: the importance of working locally and on a community basis. When you provide opportunities and a small amount of money, through the Perthyn project, for example, to local people, what you find is that they have a lot of economic…
, Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Arfor: Ministerial evidence session
Well, on that linguistic element, I think that the most important lesson that we've learned is that, if we want the language to prosper as an everyday language in those Welsh strongholds, then economic opportunities are fundamental to that. If we want to get…
, Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Arfor: Ministerial evidence session
I'm going to go to Rebecca now, because I'm not responsible for this, I'm just—
, Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Arfor: Ministerial evidence session
Well, of course, Arfor 2 was part of that agreement between Plaid Cymru and the Labour party, and I remember talking about three things at that time. We were talking about the footprint. The initial Arfor was made up of the four local authorities in the west…
, Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Arfor: Ministerial evidence session
So, initially, the idea was to try and focus on young people, to persuade them, 'If you want to try and find a job in social care, for example, the fact that you can speak Welsh will mean you stand out, because there's more than one thing that you can provide…
, Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Arfor: Ministerial evidence session
Well, Chair, the objectives of Arfor 1—. We only had £2 million behind that programme; it was a small programme, and it was one that we were trying to pilot things within. As I remember it, we were concentrating on young people at the time, in the strongholds…
, Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Arfor: Ministerial evidence session
One of the things about having been around for so very long is that I can remember the genesis of the original Arfor programme, because I was in the room in a series of discussions between Leighton Andrews and Rhodri Glyn Thomas. Those were the two people who…
, Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Arfor: Ministerial evidence session
Just one thing to say.
, Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Arfor: Ministerial evidence session
Diolch yn fawr, Cadeirydd. Mark Drakeford, Ysgrifennydd y Cabinet dros Gyllid a'r Gymraeg.
, Plenary
Topical Questions
No. The Member must allow us a small amount of time to make sure that we understand the exact translation of decisions made behind the spring statement and where the money that flows to Wales comes from. I'm very pleased to have been able to set it all out…
, Plenary
Topical Questions
Well, I thank the Member for those questions, which, in a way, I think, raise the most profound issues we've heard this afternoon, because the Chancellor's spring statement was created, and the forecasts made, prior to the US and Israeli invasion or attacks…
, Plenary
Topical Questions
Llywydd, well, the Member makes powerful points, but they are really not for me, they are for my successor, because none of the money announced in the spring statement falls into the current financial year. The final budget for next year was passed by this…
