Completed petition Support for the Mentrau Iaith (Language Initiatives)
We call on the Assembly to ask the Welsh Government:
to congratulate the Mentrau Iaith for their innovative work in promoting the use of the Welsh language across Wales;
to confirm that the Mentrau are a key partner for the Government in the context of implementing its Welsh-language strategy;
to provide a prompt response to Cardiff University’s survey of the Mentrau’r work, ensuring that the funding that is given to them is a fair reflection of the scale of the task that they face – while accepting that the amount of money that is available to them needs to be increased substantially;
to accept that there is a need for consistency between the Mentrau in terms of funding and that the current inconsistency needs to be addressed;
to fund Mentrau Iaith Cymru fairly, ensuring that it can play a full role in co-ordinating the work of the Mentrau and providing them with assistance and guidance;
to ensure that the Welsh-language standards compel Welsh local authorities to support the work of the Mentrau and to ensure that the authorities work closely with the Mentrau;
to play a full role in providing strategic guidance in the context of community planning.
More details
We submit this petition in light of uncertainty regarding the support that the Mentrau Iaith receive from central Government and local government. In light of the review, we believe that urgent action needs to be taken to ensure that the Mentrau Iaith can develop their work. This period of financial cuts has caused difficulties for the Mentrau Iaith, as local authorities in some parts of Wales have reduced the support that they give to the Mentrau Iaith. In several parts of Wales, the Mentrau Iaith provide Welsh-language services that are not available through the local authorities. It is our view that local authorities need to view the Mentrau Iaith as being critical to the way that they develop Welsh-speaking communities and the Welsh language in communities. To work effectively, the Mentrau Iaith need adequate support from central Government and a duty needs to be placed on local authorities to support them. This can be done through the Welsh-language standards. By obtaining that support, the Mentrau Iaith will be able to work effectively to develop their work in communities.
This petition was considered by the Petitions Committee
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