§ Mr. Wigleyasked the Secretary of State for Wales what are his responsibilities in relation to the Welsh language and its use.
§ Mr. Wyn RobertsThe position was made abundantly clear by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State in his speech to representatives of Gwynedd county council on 15 April 1980.
§ Mr. Wigleyasked the Secretary of State for Wales what is the total amount of direct Government support for the Welsh language; and if he will express the figures on a per capita basis, and as a whole under each expenditure heading, for each year since 1979.
§ Mr. Wyn RobertsThe information is given in the following table:
§ Mr. Wigleyasked the Secretary of State for Wales what steps he takes to ensure that the linguistic position in Wales is taken into consideration when appointments to his Department are made.
§ Mr. Wyn RobertsThe guiding principle 'with appointments to posts in all parts of the Civil Service is that the best available candidate should be selected, an where the duties of a post either require proficiency in Welsh or are such that proficiency would be an advantage, 545W this is reflected in the selection process. Recruitment to clerical posts in the Department's local officers is undertaken locally and in the more Welsh speaking areas it is normally found in practice that a reasonable proportion of those appointed to them will be Welsh speakers.
§ Mr. Wigleyasked the Secretary of State for Wales how many senior civil servants in his Department are Welsh speaking; and what proportion this represents.
§ Mr. Wyn RobertsOf the 126 senior civil servants (grades 1 to 6) 56 (44 per cent.) are Welsh speakers.
§ Mr. Wigleyasked the Secretary of State for Wales what information he has about the number and total sales value of children's books published in the Welsh language during the most recent 12-month period.
§ Mr. Wyn RobertsThrough my annual discussions with the Welsh Books Council I am kept fully informed on all aspects of publishing in the Welsh language. The hon. Gentleman should approach the council direct for information which might be of commercial interest.
§ Mr. Wigleyasked the Secretary of State for Wales what steps have been taken since May 1979 by his Department to encourage non-Welsh speaking persons in Wales to try to learn the language.
§ Mr. Wyn RobertsDirect Government support for the Welsh language since 1979 amounts to £18 million. This money has been used to support a wide variety of practical projects, including some to encourage non-Welsh speakers to learn the language.