Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg has responded to the announcement of grants to Welsh language groups by the Minister Leighton Andrews today. 

Calling for an assessment of the impact of all government spending on the Welsh language, Robin Farrar, Chair of Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg, commented: 

"Although we’re glad there haven’t been further cuts to these Welsh language groups’ funding, it’s not going to be enough to substantially increase the number of Welsh speakers. That’s why, in our “maniffesto byw”, we are calling for an independent review of all government spending to assess the relationship between that expenditure and the Welsh language – measuring its linguistic footprint. Considering the growth seen in the number of Basque language speakers in censuses there since 1991, the resources given to promote the Welsh language should be increased to the levels in that country, which means quadrupling the current expenditure in Wales. 

“0.02% of all Welsh Government spending is the value of the grants announced today. So it should be seen in the wider context, namely all the government investment in the English language.  It’s not clear the Government has realised the scale of the crisis which is facing the language, highlighted by the recent Census results. 

The Welsh Government recently held its third Equality Impact Assessment (EIA) of the Budget which did not include an assessment of the impact of the budget on the Welsh language.