Less than two years after the number of Welsh speakers fell below half the county's population Cymdeithas yr Iaith has noted its concern that Ceredigion County Council is considering cuts to its investment in Welsh.

As Ceredigion County Council consults and considers the future of all the services it provides, in a questionnaire on their website residents can choose between ' 'Maintain current level' or 'Reduce' the service or 'Stop providing'
Our concern is that the council is considering the Welsh language as a 'service' and that the questionnaire, as it is, could lead to the council scrapping all its Welsh medium provision.

Hywel Griffiths, Chair of Cymdeithas yr Iaith in the area, said:
"While we do not agree with austerity, we accept that the council must save money due to Givernment cuts. Our concern is that Welsh language services will be lost even though it is 'bilingual services' that are being considered. Although the council has put a new strategy in place, the mindset has not changed - the Welsh language is still being seen as something extra, a service, rather than the working language of the council."

The failure of the council Leader Ellen ap Gwynn to keep to her promise to ensure that the council is working internally in Welsh has added to the problem.

Toni Schiavone, chair of Cymdeithas yr Iaith's Sustainable Communities group, said:
"Back in 2011, Ellen ap Gwynn, now Leader of the Council, signed a statement to say that she agreed with the principle that the council should work through the Welsh. We would expect, now that Plaid Cymru is the leader of a coalition in Ceredigion, that steps are being taken to make Welsh the language of work in the council, but the council, so far, has shown no intention to ensure that the Welsh language is a priority.
"If a major employer in the county made ​​a clear intention to move to work in Welsh, as Carmarthenshire County Council has started to do, it would set an example for other organisations across the county - and would show school pupils that there is a great value to the Welsh education they receive.
"In addition, if the council is committed to working in Welsh and translated into English as needed, it would, in fact, saves translation costs. However, we still believe that translation services are important to ensure all the non-Welsh can relate to the business of the council."

The Its Time to Talk Cuts survey is on Ceredigion County Counil's website and can be completed by any Ceredigion resident - https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/Ceredigion-ItsTimeToTalkCuts