Cymdeithas yr Iaith has warned that there could be "legal loopholes" in new rights to the Welsh language announced today (Friday, 7 November).

Cymdeithas has been in discussions with Welsh Government officials for months in order to try to ensure that the Standards - new language duties on bodies under the Welsh Language Measure of 2011 - ensure services in Welsh and clear rights for the people of Wales.

Manon Elin, the movement's rights spokesperson, said: "Looking at the draft Standards, it appears that the Government has listened to some of our concerns, which we welcome, but some issues are cause for legal concern, especially when considering services which are contracted out and provided through grants. Public bodies are currently going through a period of fundamental change in terms of how they provide services, including much greater collaboration and providing services through other companies and organisations. It would be very unfortunate if the Government creates a new system of language duties which fails to cover such services."

"Another issue of concern is the weakness of the Standards when it comes to the internal use of Welsh in organisations. Some of the Standards are a step in the right direction, but in order to make a real difference to the language on the ground, we need much firmer Standards in terms of internal use - to make Welsh an essential skill in jobs, to ensure that the language is used in everyday work, and to provide intensive training for people to learn Welsh fluently in the workplace. The Standards should provide a clear path for organisations to do so."

Jamie Bevan, Chair of the organisation, added: "Cymdeithas will meet with Welsh Government officials again on Monday, where we will continue to push for fundamental improvements to the Standards. We are confident that the Government will listen, and will improve the Standards at this late stage in order to achieve the original objectives of the Assembly, when there was a unanimous vote to pass the Welsh Language Measure in 2011."