§ Sir Wyn RobertsTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will announce his conclusions on future responsibility for grants in support of the main non-statutory organisations which support the Welsh language. [5626]
§ Mr. RichardsMy right hon. Friend and I have considered carefully the responses to the consultation paper circulated by the Welsh Office last May and have concluded that the Welsh Language Board should assume responsibility for most of these grants from 1997–98.
416WThe four organisations supported by these grants—the Welsh Books Council, the Welsh nursery schools movement—Mudiad Ysgolion Meithrin—the National Eisteddfod and the Welsh youth movement—Urdd Gobaith Cymru—all play significant roles in sustaining and developing the Welsh language and increasing the opportunities for its use in daily life in Wales. We consider it entirely appropriate for the Welsh Language Board, which was established by this Government to promote and facilitate the use of the Welsh language, to take on the responsibility for supporting these important organisations.
We have, however, been impressed by the argument put forward by the Welsh Books Council and others that support for the council's central function of promoting book publishing in Wales would not sit happily with the Welsh Language Board. The Welsh Books Council's core objectives include the encouragement of interest in English language books about Wales and support for authors and publishers in furtherance of this aim. As it would be impossible to disentangle support for non-Welsh books from the Welsh Books Council's central advisory service to Welsh language authors and publishers, we have been convinced that it would not be appropriate for the Welsh Language Board to assume responsibility for the council's core activities. We do, however, intend to transfer to the Welsh Language Board the responsibility for grant-aiding the Welsh Books Council to support individual publishers under the grants to publishers scheme, which is devoted to the production of Welsh language books.