§ Mr. Cledwyn Hughesasked the Secretary of State for Wales what new grants he proposes to make in the financial year 1979–80 in support of the Welsh language.
§ Mr. John MorrisSubject to Parliament's approval of the Main and Supplementary Estimates, I propose to make the following new grants next year in support of the Welsh language.
- A. £55,000 to the Welsh Books Council to enable it to assist the publishing in Welsh of books for children and popular style magazines for both children and adults.
- B. A grant of £20,000 to Bwrdd Ffilmiau Cymraeg to assist the production of Welsh language films.
- C. A special grant of £25,000 to Mudiad Ysgolion Meithrin to enable it to provide direct assistance to individual groups. This grant is in addition to that which it receives in support of its central administration.
- D. An increase in the Welsh books grant, which provides aid for publishing Welsh books for adults, to £91,000. The amount of the Welsh books grant in 1978–79 was £60,500.
In addition to the above I shall continue to provide support to Urdd Gobaith Cymru, and to the Schools Broadcasting Council for Wales and to finance research in teaching the Welsh language, all of which will be beneficial for the future of the language. Furthermore, the Education Bill now before Parliament will, if passed, enable me to pay specific grants totalling about £0.5 million towards the cost of Welsh language teaching.