Flintshire Council launches bid to boost Welsh speakers

A Consultation has been launched as part of a bid to encourage more people to speak Welsh.

Flintshire Council is aiming to boost the current number of Welsh speakers in the county from 19,343 (13.2 per cent) up to 20,000 (13.6 per cent) during the next five years.

And the authority wants to hear the views of its residents on how this will be achieved as part of its Welsh Language Promotion Strategy.

In a foreword, chief executive Colin Everett said the council was ‘fully committed’ to supporting the language and highlighted the opening of a new Welsh medium foundation school at Ysgol Croes Atti in 2014.

He said: “Welsh language is an important part of Flintshire’s cultural identity and we have been proud to celebrate our linguistic heritage, hosting one of the most successful Urdd Eisteddfods in 2016.

“We believe that we have been making steady progress to provide bilingual services, however developing and implementing a Welsh Language Promotion Strategy for the county presents a new ambitious, challenge for the council.

“Setting targets to maintain or increase the number of Welsh speakers for the county as required by the Welsh Language Standards, against a backdrop of reducing numbers of Welsh speakers, cannot be achieved by the council alone.

“Your support and commitment to this strategy is critical, whether you are a Welsh speaker, a Welsh learner or do not speak any Welsh, we would like to hear your views.”

The draft strategy sets out a number of objectives including increasing the range of Welsh medium childcare in the county, boosting the number of pupils being taught in Welsh and trialling new initiatives with further and higher education establishments.

It also proposes to develop a sense of pride among both Welsh and non-Welsh speakers in the language and to encourage businesses to develop bilingual services.

You can fill in the survey online by visiting www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/WLPromotionStrategy,  e-mailing corporatebusiness@flintshire.gov.uk or by post to Corporate Business, Flintshire County Council, County Hall, Mold, CH7 6NB.

The consultation is open until Friday 17 August.

By Liam Randall – Local Democracy Reporter.

📷 Llywelyn 2000 (CC BY-SA 4.0)