Issue - meetings

In accordance with the Notice of Motion received under Section 4.19 of the Constitution, Councillor Rhys Tudur will propose as follows:-

Given the language shift seen in Gwynedd from census to census, this Council welcomes the Welsh Government's response to the recommendations of the Commission for Welsh-speaking Communities and calls upon the Government to urgently introduce measures giving local authorities the powers and funding to counteract the language shift.

Given the language shift seen in Gwynedd from census to census, this Council welcomes the Welsh Government's response to the recommendations of the Commission for Welsh speaking Communities and calls upon the Government to urgently introduce measures giving local authorities the powers and funding to counteract the language shift.

(A)  Submitted - the following notice of motion by Councillor Rhys Tudur in accordance with Section 4.19 of the Constitution, and it was seconded:-

Given the language shift seen in Gwynedd from census to census, this Council welcomes the Welsh Government's response to the recommendations of the Commission for Welsh-speaking Communities and calls upon the Government to urgently introduce measures giving local authorities the powers and funding to counter the language shift.

The member set out the context to his motion, noting:-

·       That it was a turning point for the language that the Government was keen to designate areas where the Welsh language was a day-to-day language. 

·       It was stated that the Welsh Communities Commission had made a number of recommendations, and that areas where over 40% of people speak Welsh were identified as linguistically significant areas. It was explained that the whole of Gwynedd would be identified under this standard.

·       It was stressed that areas that did not reach the percentage level would be able to be designated, and it would also give status to some locations.

·       It would lay a strong legal foundation for the language to flourish.

·       Noted examples were areas such as the Basque Country which had seen increasing numbers.

·       Gwynedd had the highest number of designated areas, with several locations with over 70% speaking the language on a day-to-day basis; there was only one other location across Wales outside Gwynedd.

·       The Government had stated their support in principle, but the Government had been called upon to act before the election.

Support was expressed for the motion noting the need to put things into practice and to ensure that everyone could and had the opportunity to live their life and to work through the medium of Welsh.

RESOLVED to adopt the motion, namely:-

This Council welcomes the Welsh Government's response to the recommendations of the Commission for Welsh-speaking Communities and calls upon the Government to urgently introduce measures giving local authorities the powers and funding to counter the language shift.