Cymdeithas response to Welsh Affairs Select Committee Report on Welsh Language LCO

Cymdeithas yr Iaith welcomes the report released today by the welsh Affairs Committee and is pleased to see the Committee have recognised the Welsh Assembly should have the powers to legislate on the Welsh language.

Menna Machreth, Cymdeithas yr Iaith Chairperson said:

'It is encouraging to see the Welsh Affairs Committee are unanimous in their opinion that the Assembly should obtain the powers in relation to the Welsh language. But the report notes the Committee may want to scrutinize the LCO again if the Assembly make significant changes, which is worrying because there is no need to slow this process any further.

'The report notes the list of categories should be removed in favour of a set of principles a measure would have to meet, but Cymdeithas yr Iaith strongly believes this is not appropriate for an LCO transferring the powers but a decision for the Assembly when forming the measure. We disagree with the Committee's attempt to weaken the powers in the LCO by suggesting that one-off payments of public money made to NGO's, charities and bodies with small numbers of employees or private sector companies should be excluded from the LCO.

'The Committee believes there is no need to make the Welsh language an official language in Wales. Cymdeithas strongly disagrees because making the Welsh language an official language in Wales would have a normalising effect and it is the European trend for those countries that want equal status languages.

'The report says further that there is in inconsistency in the list of service providers, and this is exactly what Cymdeithas yr Iaith has warned of because individuals who choose to live their lives through the medium of Welsh should have the right to do so across every service; e.g. the LCO includes trains but not buses, telecommunications but not banks. It is the Assembly's role to decide on the responsibilities of the Welsh Language Commissioner during the process of legislation.'

Cymdeithas yr Iaith believes the full powers in relation to the Welsh language should be transferred to the Welsh Assembly, which would include the private sector in its entirety so linguistic rights can be included in a future measure.

Menna Machreth said further:

'We congratulate the Committee members from every party for placing the Welsh language in front of party politics. Although this report has been published, we must ensure the LCO will reach the Statuary Books as soon as possible. The people of Wales have put up with tokenistic services for too long, and the Government must set the regulations not multi-national companies. It is time to give rights to those who wish to use the Welsh language so we can create a more equal situation for the language in Wales.'

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