Agenda item

To share the consultation documents and invite comments from the members on the contents of the consultation.  The Language Unit will prepare a response to the consultation based on the comments received.

To accept the report and ask the Language Unit to draw up a response to the consultation based on the observations received by Members.

Submitted by the Language Adviser - documents for information relating to Welsh Government's consultation on the Welsh Language Communities Housing Scheme. It was explained that the consultation offered steps to seek to address the current housing situation and derived from the findings of Simon Brookes' report in 2021. It was noted there was an opportunity for the Committee to submit comments that would be added to the Language Unit's response to the Consultation.

Concerns were highlighted,

·          that the consultation on the impact of the pandemic on Welsh speaking community groups, that was referred to in the consultation, had been held during the pandemic and therefore it was considered that its true impact was yet to be apparent. It was proposed that a more recent consultation was needed to provide a more complete picture.

·          community enterprises were under a lot of pressure and were reliant on    volunteers as they were a contact point for a number of people in the community.

Observations arising from the ensuing discussion:

·         It was asked whether there was any data about how community groups / community enterprises survived during the COVID period. It was noted that the Language Unit did not have data relating to a specific period.

·         The consultation was welcomed, but concern was expressed about the pressure and increasing expectations placed on social enterprises and that collaborative support was needed specifically for less established community enterprises as there was a concern that these would be forgotten.

·         It was emphasised there was a need to be able to prove the local need, and it was local enterprises that could often best identify that need. Attention was drawn to good practice in terms of part-ownership in the Llanuwchllyn area and it was noted that there was a need to collaborate with social enterprises to ascertain the genuine need for housing. The need to seek further explanation from the Government about its intentions in relation to the strategy of reaching a million Welsh-speakers and how it intended to create jobs was needed. It was further asked if maintaining jobs in Welsh-speaking areas was part of these plans.

·         It was also suggested there was a need to be able to act immediately following the recommendations of this consultation and the recent consultation on Planning matters, rather than having to wait until the next LDP was published,

·         Concern was expressed that the Government could be slow in processing the policies on converting general homes to holiday homes and there was a need for this to be resolved as soon as possible

·         It was asked whether it could be possible to add language awareness in education as part of the 'general contribution question' section expressing that this was a major consideration within Welsh-speaking communities.

·         It was noted that the Commission and the Government should lead by example and ask the remainder of the authorities in Wales to use the Welsh language as its main language of internal administration.

·         It was noted that it was crucial that the right foundations were set for the Pilot Work in Llŷn, and that local people and councillors should contribute and be involved in the process to ensure local accountability as it was essential to have the local voice to have a real understanding of the situation.

·         It was explained that there was a need to ensure that the local need was underlined in newly developed rented housing. It was noted that over-development in areas where the need did not exist was just as detrimental to the language as underdevelopment.

RESOLVED:

To accept the report and ask the Language Unit to use the observations received from Members to draw up a response to the consultation.