Memorandum from Mentrau Iaith Cymru
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'The Welsh Language and Legislation' |
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| Mentrau Iaith Cymru | |
| Mentrau Iaith Cymru (MIC) is a national body which provides advice and support to the local Mentrau Iaith ('Language Initiatives'). There is now a national network of 25 Mentrau Iaith throughout the country (operating mostly at a county level), whose aim is to promote and develop the use of the Welsh language. This is achieved in a number of ways, depending on the individual strategy of each Menter Iaith. | |
| The basic funding for the Mentrau Iaith derives from a number of different sources, and varies from area to area. These sources include The Welsh Language Board, the Arts Council of Wales, the Welsh Development Agency, County Councils, National Parks, the National Lottery and European Structural Funds. | |
| In view of the unique situation of these organisations represented by MIC, and their influence on their localities, it is particularly appropriate that MIC should have an opportunity to present evidence to the Commission. Every Menter Iaith is established by a committee of local volunteers, who are responsible for the basic operation of their local Menter Iaith. These committees feed into the MIC staff committee, as well as a committee for local volunteers, in order to exchange good practice and ideas. | |
| The Welsh Language and Legislation . | |
| MIC believes there is concrete evidence that legislation can influence the health of a language – to its benefit or to its detriment. According to the 2001 Census, up to 23.5% of people in Wales are able to speak Welsh. Although the number of speakers has increased, Welsh remains a minority language in Wales. The reasons why Welsh is now a minority language may be connected with past legislation which profoundly changed people's attitudes towards the language. More recent legislation in support of the Welsh language is evidence, perhaps, of the positive effects that are possible. | |
| The Act of Union 1536 | |
| "No person who uses the Welsh speech or language shall have or enjoy any manner of office or fees within the realm of England, Wales or other of the King's Dominions". | |
| This led to the abolition of the Welsh language as the language of government, law, work and trade. | |
| The Education Act 1870 | |
| Following the 1847 report on education in Wales, an Education Act was introduced in 1870. While the Act made no mention of the Welsh language, the attitude of many new 'Board Schools' established in accordance with the Act reflected the findings of the report, ie, | |
| "The Welsh language is a vast drawback to Wales and a manifold barrier to the moral progress and commercial prosperity of the people…It is not easy to overestimate its evil effects". | |
| This led to the appearance of the 'Welsh Not' and the weakening of Welsh as a language of formal education. | |
| The Courts Act 1945 | |
| This Act permitted the use of the Welsh language in the Courts. | |
| The Welsh Language Act 1967 | |
| This gave local authorities the right to use the Welsh language. | |
| The Broadcasting Act 1980/81 | |
| Led to the establishment of a Welsh language television channel for Wales. | |
| The Welsh Language Act 1993 | |
| Required local authorities to provide a level of bilingual services for the public. | |
| Education Reform Act 1988 | |
| Welsh became a compulsory core subject up to age 16 in the schools of Wales. | |
| Government of Wales Act 1997. | |
| This Act led to the creation of the National Assembly for Wales, which carried out the first ever survey of the Welsh language. This led to the report by the Culture, Welsh Language and Sport Committee, Our Language: Its Future, and, later, Iaith Pawb: A National Action Plan for a Bilingual Wales. | |
| The Assembly, the Welsh Language and Legislation | |
| Mentrau Iaith Cymru believe that the National Assembly should have the right to legislate on issues relating to the Welsh language, as a matter of basic democracy. The Welsh language is unique to Wales, therefore it is essential that decisions affecting the language are taken by the people of Wales. | |
| Policies of all kinds, such as those relating to education, planning and economic development, may have an effect on the Welsh language; for that reason, legislating for the language is not something that can be done as in a vacuum. Therefore it would probably be necessary to extend the Assembly's legislative powers into other areas as well. | |
| Any new legislation pertaining to the Welsh language should protect the right of Welsh speakers to live their lives through the medium of Welsh according to their wish, whether in the use of public services (such as education and health) or services in the private sector. Legislation should also be used to protect Welsh speaking communities in the face of threats from market forces. | |
| To this end, any new legislation should recognise both Welsh and English as the official languages of Wales, and Welsh as the indigenous language of Wales. | |
| Below is an example of a legislative framework from Catalonia. The Catalan language is defined in the 1978 Spanish Constitution and the Catalan Statute of Autonomy, as follows:- | |
| "Article 3 of the Statute of Autonomy states: '1. Catalan is Catalonia's own language. 2. Catalan is the official language of Catalonia, as is Castilian, which is official throughout Spain. 3. The Generalitat will guarantee the normal and official use of both languages., will take the appropriate measures in order to ensure that they are learnt and will create the conditions which will allow them to attain full equality with respect to the rights and duties of the citizens of Catalonia. 4. The Aranese tongue shall be taught and shall be the object of special respect and protection." | |
| Technical Note 21 (Wales) | |
| We believe the Assembly could exert an influence on businesses' exterior signage by revising Technical Note 21, in order to give clear guidance to County Councils on their right to make bilingual signage a condition of planning permission for any new business. | |
| While primary legislation will be necessary to secure many requirements, we believe it is possible for the Assembly to attain some objectives through the Technical Note 21(Wales). | |
| In other areas, such as planning a new development, the Assembly should insist on "linguistic assessment", in order to consider the implications for the Welsh language. This is not an unusual procedure, and the environmental assessments to which many planning applications are subject serve as a precedent. Ideally, the County Councils would administer such assessments in conjunction with the Welsh Language Board and the Mentrau Iaith, in order to consider the impact of specific developments at both the community and the national level, bearing in mind that Wales is a bilingual country. | |
| The Current Language Act | |
| Without doubt, the Welsh Language Act 1993 has made a positive difference to the Welsh language, in ensuring that Welsh is more visible than ever before. In addition, the Act has extended the rights of Welsh speakers to use their language when dealing with the public sector. Other important consequences include the creation of Welsh-medium employment which imparts an economic value to the language as well as easing the effects of depopulation and expatriation from Wales. | |
| It is good news that the current Act is to be revised to cover the utilities sector. This can only serve to extend the beneficial influence into this sector, which has grown substantially, and is responsible for delivering basic services such as water, electricity, gas and public transport. | |
| In the wake of Our Language: Its Future and Iaith Pawb, and the additional resources which will be allocated to the Welsh Language Board, it is possible that the current Act may achieve its full potential through regular and more detailed monitoring work. | |
| However, the current Act does have some basic shortcomings. It does not guarantee the civil rights of Welsh speakers to use their language whenever they choose – a principle which is promoted in Our Language: Its Future. | |
| Currently, Welsh speakers are allowed to use their language "so far as is both appropriate in the circumstances and reasonably practicable" (Welsh Language Act 1993) within the public sector only. | |
| Monitoring work carried out by the Denbigh, Anglesey and Gwynedd Mentrau Iaith demonstrates that the Welsh language service is far from sufficient in the public sector. | |
| For example, 33% of telephone calls to Conwy County Council failed to meet the requirements of their Language Scheme. (Cipolwg o Gynllun Iaith Awdurdod Lleol Conwy – Denbigh-Conwy Anglesey and Gwynedd Mentrau Iaith, 2001). Similar, if not worse, examples have been reported by other Mentrau Iaith across the country. | |
| Welsh speakers do not have the right to use the Welsh language in the private sector. One of the basic premises of Our Language: Its Future is therefore undermined immediately, namely: | |
| "A bilingual Wales means a country where people can choose to live their lives through the medium of either or both languages . . . " (28 January 2003) | |
| As well as undermining basic principles, the lack of use of the Welsh language in the private sector continues to reinforce negative attitudes to the language among Welsh speakers, including their failure to use the language themselves or to bequeath it to the next generation. | |
| Mentrau Iaith and the Private Sector | |
| To a greater extent than any other organisations, the Mentrau Iaith have experience of dealing with the private sector in the field, in order to encourage wider use of the Welsh language. | |
| Promotional Resources | |
| Mentrau Iaith are engaged in working with the private sector to encourage the sector to use and to extend its use of the Welsh language. | |
| Currently, the Mentrau can offer grants to companies who wish to use the Welsh language on signs, pamphlets and websites. A number of Mentrau produce "Business Packs" specifically for the private sector, or employ nominated officers to exert an influence on businesses. | |
| Promotional Methods | |
| Personal Visits | |
| A number of Mentrau Iaith pay personal visits to businesses and carry out surveys of individual towns in order to measure the usage of Welsh. | |
| There have been a number of successes, where companies have decided to make some use of the Welsh language. This is particularly pertinent in the case of smaller businesses where there is regular local contact. | |
| Percentages in Llanrwst | |
| Menter Iaith Conwy has been working closely with businesses in the town of Llanrwst for more than four years. The following are the results of surveys carried out in 1998 and 2003. | |
| 1998 – 50.5% of shops used bilingual signage. | |
| 2003 – 75.0% of shops use bilingual signage. |
| Despite the success of the work done in Llanrwst, comparatively few other small businesses have put up bilingual signage following a personal visit. | |
| Planning Permission | |
| Other Mentrau Iaith, in Flintshire for example, aim to influence companies by obtaining copies of planning applications and attempting to persuade businesses to adopt bilingual signage. Again, despite some success, comparatively few choose to use Welsh language signage. Out of 150 letters sent out to companies last year, only 4 responded favourably (Appendix A). | |
| Business Start-up Courses | |
| Menter Sir Ddinbych provides courses for those who are starting new businesses, in order to offer an element of language awareness and to sell the idea of using the Welsh language. Again, there have been some successes, but the majority do not choose to use the Welsh language. Of the 34 people who have attended courses since October 2002, only 4 have responded favourably. | |
| Working with Sign Manufacturers | |
| Menter Taf Myrddin works with sign manufacturers to encourage them to inform their customers of grants for bilingual signage. While many choose to benefit from this service, the take-up rate is not consistent, and the service has not led to a significant increase in bilingual signage. | |
| Research on the use of Welsh in the Business Sector | |
| Joint research carried out by Menter Iaith Myrddin and Trinity College, Carmarthen, indicates the following: |
| 80% of respondents believe that the Welsh language is either very important, important or quite important as part of a company's corporate image. | |
| 77% would like to see companies using more of the Welsh language. | |
| 61% of Welsh speakers in the sample said they would be more likely to use a company that offered a bilingual service. | |
| The various schemes run by Mentrau Iaith demonstrate that it is possible to influence businesses to a certain extent, and that there exists a reservoir of "passive" goodwill towards the Welsh language. We also believe that without the work of the Mentrau Iaith, the number of businesses using Welsh would be much smaller. However, we maintain that there is insufficient obligation on the business sector to use the Welsh language, which leads to a serious lack of consistency and continuity in this sector. Since a lot of this work relates to signage for small businesses, it would be possible to ensure consistency and progress by revising and strengthening Technical Note 21. | |
| With regard to larger companies, on the other hand, we believe that the only way to influence them is through a change in legislation. In the experience of Mentrau Iaith, this is particularly true when dealing with large companies and chain stores whose head offices are outside Wales. One frequently sees one business belonging a particular chain offering a Welsh language service, while another branch elsewhere provides no Welsh service whatsoever. On other occasions, a chain of businesses may change its corporate image, its manager or its site, and may jettison its language policy as a consequence. The whole process is currently too dependent on individuals within large businesses who are sympathetic towards the Welsh language, rather than on any robust language policy. | |
| In a number of cases, the Mentrau Iaith have contacted large companies who are about to open a new store in their area, and obtained promises of bilingual signage and service. Once the store is open, however, often little or no Welsh is to be seen on the new site (See Appendix B). | |
| Unfortunately, it is not possible to rely on goodwill to secure the rights of Welsh speakers. In the same way, we cannot rely on goodwill to protect the rights of workers, disabled people or the environment – ultimately only legislation can protect these rights. | |
| Mentrau Iaith Cymru is therefore in favour of an element of compulsion when dealing with the private sector. However, we appreciate it is more difficult for some parts of the private sector to adopt bilingual operational guidelines. To this end, MIC believes it is possible to introduce legislation covering specific elements in the private sector. We believe that companies should be assessed according to their turnover, and that companies with a higher turnover should be subject to more obligations. We would also like the Commission to consider tax relief on money spent on the Welsh language in the private sector. Primary legislation will be necessary to achieve this. | |
| (x = scheme to be implemented) | |
| Possible Specific Requirements | Small and Medium-sized Enterprises | Larger Enterprises | Major Companies |
| External Signage | x |
x |
x |
| Internal Signage | x |
x |
x |
| Opportunities for staff to learn Welsh | x |
x |
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| Products packaged bilingually | x |
x |
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| Bilingual brochures | x |
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| Bilingual press advertising | x |
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| Bilingual (oral) announcements | x |
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| Bilingual counter staff | x |
x |
| Impact of Legislation on the Welsh Language |
| The Moral Argument |
| Securing the rights of Welsh speakers does not interfere in any way with the rights of non-Welsh speakers; it is the ability to choose that is important, and to ensure that all the citizens of Wales have the right to live their lives in their chosen language. This is not currently possible for Welsh speakers. |
| The Economic Counter-argument |
| We believe it is possible for Wales to benefit economically by extending the Welsh Language Act to cover the private sector as well as other areas, thereby securing rights for Welsh speakers in areas such as education, health and planning. |
| The economic counterargument, often heard with regard to legislation for the language in the private sector, is that any additional cost to businesses will deter potential investors in Wales. |
| In view of developments in information technology and the comparatively low property prices in Wales, it can be argued that the costs of producing bilingual materials is minimal by comparison. |
| If a company is assessed according to its turnover, there should be no risk of imposing unfair expenditure on any company. Concessions are also possible, including tax relief on profits spent on the Welsh language measures. |
| Financial assistance from the Welsh Development Agency and ELWa could also help to cover such costs. Following the publication of Our Language: Its Future, the language is becoming a horizontal part of the strategies of these bodies. |
| The Economic Argument |
| As mentioned above, the current Welsh Language Act has benefited Wales economically. Mentrau Iaith Cymru believe that additional legislation would further strengthen the economic situation in Wales. |
| The Welsh language – an instrument for withstanding the negative effects of globalisation. There is enormous potential to the Welsh language from the point of view of safeguarding jobs in Wales. In a number of cases, Welsh language services, such as call centres, have been established (eg, Porthmadog Call Centre) because of the public demand for services in Welsh. In Aberystwyth and Colwyn Bay, BT have established and maintained call centres because of their unique ability to offer a bilingual service. |
| We believe that further legislation would raise the confidence of Welsh speakers, encouraging them to require bilingual services. Wales would thus be better placed to resist some of the effects of globalisation, and the tendency to centralise businesses in places outside Wales. |
| Thanks to the growth of opportunities to learn Welsh in the wake of the Education Reform Act 1998 and the general increase in the number of Welsh speakers – especially among the young (2001 Census) – bilingual skills are within the reach of more and more people. However, they must be given an opportunity to use and to practise these skills. Legislation would ensure that multilingual skills become entirely practicable. |
| The Wales Tourist Board acknowledges that the Welsh language can help create a stronger and unique image for Wales. Such an image is useful because it attracts tourists, thereby strengthening the economy. Without doubt, further legislation in support of the Welsh language would reinforce this effect. |
| According to the Sense of Place Advisory Guide published by the Wales Tourist Board, visitors, too, wish to see the Welsh language given a prominent place in Wales, thereby creating for them a sense of being in a different country, having its unique language and culture. |
| Practical examples abound, where bilingualism has boosted the economies of other countries, eg, following legislation in Quebec (Measure 101, 1977), there was a noticeable increase in GDP. Another example of a country which has legislated and is enjoying national economic prosperity is Catalonia (1983 and 1998 Statutes). Switzerland also has four official languages which have in no way undermined its economy; indeed the opposite is true. |
| Designating the Welsh language an "indigenous" or "official" language would attract European "minority languages" funding. With more and more countries about to join the European Union, it is important that this should be implemented as soon as possible. |
| Conclusion and Proposals |
| The evidence is clear – the Welsh Language Act (1993) does not currently protect the rights of Welsh speakers. This is certainly true in relation to Welsh speakers' interaction with the private sector, and it is partly true in relation to the public sector, for two specific reasons: |
| 1. | a lack of resources to implement the Act; and |
| 2. | the imprecise wording of the Act: "so far as is both appropriate in the circumstances and reasonably practicable". |
| The wording of the current Act should be strengthened to secure the civil right of Welsh speakers to use Welsh whenever they wish, and to include Welsh as the "indigenous" language of Wales. | |
| In addition, further investment and resources are needed to implement the 1993 Act in an effective and robust manner. | |
| It is not possible to influence the private sector sufficiently to bring about the necessary language shift with the current resources and legal framework. | |
| Technical Advice Note 21 should be revised, so that County Councils are authorised by the Assembly to exert an influence on business signage. It will be necessary to incorporate elements relating to the private sector into the new Welsh Language Act, to ensure that relevant services are on offer to Welsh speakers. | |
| Legislation will also be needed to secure tax relief for companies which invest in the Welsh language | |
| Matters pertaining to planning and the Welsh language are still very ill-defined and this fact undermines Welsh as a community language. | |
| Once again, it will be necessary to strengthen TAN 21 in order to protect the visual and community status of the Welsh language through implementing "linguistic assessments" in relation to new developments. | |
Mentrau Iaith Cymru 2 June 2003 |
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