§ Mr. Barry JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on his plans to promote the Welsh language.
§ Sir Wyn RobertsThe Government will soon be placing before Parliament a Welsh Language Bill. The Bill will 109W require public bodies serving Wales to prepare schemes covering the use they will make of Welsh in providing services to the public. It will also establish a statutory Welsh Language Board and amend previous legislation in respect of Welsh.
The Bill will be a further step in the Government's unprecedented programme of support for the Welsh language, as part of which we are making available £7.6 million in grants for Welsh language organisations and projects in the current financial year. We are also continuing to implement the introduction of Welsh as a national curriculum subject in all schools in Wales.