Plan to boost the number of Welsh speakers by 5%
ANEW plan is being adopted by a council which hopes to see a 5% increase in its Welsh speakers.
Gwynedd has the highest percentage of Welsh speakers in the country, with 65.4% of its residents able to converse in the language.
But, determined to see that figure rise even higher, the Plaid Cymru-run authority wants to see it at over 70% by 2021.
To support this, the authority is compiling a promotion plan which includes measures to increase use of Welsh in the home, school and workplace.
The success of any council measures will not become clear until the next UK census in three years’ time, with the plan set to cover the period from 2018 to 2023.
The report addresses challenges including young people leaving the county and being replaced by incomers from outside Wales, transferring the language from parents to children, and some speakers’ lack of confidence in using Welsh on a daily basis.
The council’s own figures show that, while 90% of children aged three and four can speak Welsh if they come from homes where both parents speak Welsh, this figure drops to only 63% iff only one parent iis fluent.
However, 35% oof children in hhomes where neither parent can speak Welsh wwere recorded as Welsh speakers in the 2011 censsus
Members discussed some of the report’s find- ings, which will need to be approved by the cabinet and full council before being adopted as policy. Cllr Cai Larsen pointed out that the 6,000 students resident at Bangor University – most of whom come from outside Wales – may account for the percentage of Welsh speakers in the 16-24 age bracket, which presently stands at 58.6% compared to 89% in the 3-15 bracket.
The last census reported a general.decline in the number of wards with more than 70% able to speak Welsh, with only 39 of Gwynedd’s 71 wards in that category according to the 2011 census.
However, there was an increase in some parts of the county, including the wards of Waunfawr, Ogwen, Y Groeslon, Llanbedr, Corris/Mawddwy, and an increase back over the 70% mark in Clynnog.
The report notes: “As this strategy is being led by the council, it will concentrate mainly on those areas where it has direct influence.
“However, as there is close collaboration with other bodies and agencies across many of the strategic areas, many other partners and community organisations will also have a role to play in promoting the Welsh language across the county.
“Our intention is to fulfil the main elements of this strategy in cooperation with some communities, and by working to mainstream the Welsh language and ensure it is an integral part of plans, programmes, policies and activities provided and organised in Gwynedd.”