Covid lockdowns anxiety blamed for Welsh Census drop
PARENTS MAY HAVE UNDERREPORTED KIDS’FLUENCY
WALES’ Minister for Education and the Welsh Language has suggested 2021 Census data showing a drop in the number of children speaking Welsh was impacted by the pandemic.
Jeremy Miles said the “extremely uncertain” circumstances of the pandemic could have caused parents to inaccurately record their children’s Welsh language skills.
Figures from the 2021 Census reported a 6% drop in the number of 5 to 15-year-olds who could speak Welsh over the past decade.
The census recorded 538,000 Welsh
speakers in
March 2021, meaning the percentage of Welsh-speakers in Wales (17.8%) had dropped to the lowest since census records began.
Mr Miles, who is part of Welsh Government’s campaign to achieve one million Cymraeg speakers in Wales by 2050, says he was “disappointed” by the data, adding that it was “not what we wanted to see.”
But he maintained that the data was “one snapshot” from the last decade and insisted the data would be reviewed.
Mr Miles said figures relating to 3-15-year-olds needed to be examined more closely and appeared to suggest the data may have been skewed by parents’ judgement of their children’s Welsh language skills.
“Covid-19 meant that 2021 was an extremely uncertain time, with many people concerned about their children’s Welsh language abilities, children were
out of
school, and it may be that we are seeing this concern reflected in the way they reported their children’s use of Welsh,” he said.
“The National Survey for Wales shows an increase in people saying they speak some Welsh.
“This contrasts with the census figures released today. This is also something we will look at carefully.”
The data released by the Office for National Statistics shows the number of Welsh speakers has fallen by more than 20,000 over the last decade.
In March 2021, 538,000 people aged three or older said they could speak Welsh - this is around 23,700 (1.2%) fewer people than in 2011.
Despite the latest figures presenting a significant challenge to the Welsh Government’s plans, Mr Miles said they remain “absolutely committed” to their ambitious aims.
“I’ve previously said that I’ll review our statistical trajectory in light of the census data to look at what more we can do to support people to speak more Welsh in their daily lives,” Mr Miles said.
“As part of this, I’ll want to talk with people all over Wales in the New Year. But we remain absolutely committed to our aim of a million Welsh speakers and doubling the number of us who use Welsh every day by 2050.
“The census shows us what has happened over the last ten years up to 2021.
“Cymraeg 2050 has been in place for less than four years of that period, and much of that time was affected by Covid-19.
“We’ve got good reasons to be optimistic about the next decade. Cymraeg belongs to us all in Wales.
“Today, we see more children in Welsh-medium education, more opportunities to learn Welsh, and greater pride in our language and our identity than ever before.”