Delay in implementing main recommendation of the Commission

Following a statement by Mark Drakeford, Cabinet Secretary with responsibility for the Welsh language, on the progress in implementing the Commission for Welsh-speaking Communities’ first report in the Senedd today (Tuesday, 24 February), Cymdeithas yr Iaith has said that the delay in acting on the report’s main recommendation is “unforgivable.”

The Commission for Welsh-speaking Communities published its first report, ‘Empowering communities, strengthening the Welsh language’, in August 2024. It listed 57 recommendations, 40 of them for the Welsh Government to enact, with the aim of strengthening the Welsh language in areas with a high proportion of speakers.

The report’s main recommendation was to designate parts of Wales as “Areas of Higher-Density Linguistic Significance” in order to create specific policies to support the language in those areas.

However, in his statement today, Mark Drakeford could only vow to continue “exploring” THE possibility of legislating to designate these areas.

In response, Owain Meirion, Chair of Cymdeithas yr Iaith, said:

“It is now a year and a half since the Commission published its first report, ‘Empowering communities, strengthening the Welsh language’. This is an exceptionally detailed piece of research and analysis that offers concrete ways of sustaining Welsh as a living language in its traditional communities.

“The fact that it has been left sitting on the shelf gathering dust, with its main recommendation left unimplemented since August 2024 and with this Senedd term almost at an end, is unforgivable. Welsh-speaking communities are facing a crisis today, but unfortunately the government’s actions do not reflect the seriousness of the situation - the next Welsh government cannot delay any longer before taking action.”