Welsh language costs 'exaggerated' by Wrexham council

Campaigners have accused Wrexham council of exaggerating the cost of providing Welsh language services.

The council told the Welsh government in February implementing new Welsh language standards would cost £700,000, including £96,000 for software.

But the Welsh Language Society claimed the software would cost less than £2,000, and asked the council to apologise.

Wrexham council has denied exaggerating figures.

Councillor Hugh Jones said the amount was "based on its best estimates, which is why they were always approximate".

He said the figure of £700,000 was based on a draft notice issued to the council, which was revised when a final notice was received.

He added: "The council is not undermining people's rights to use Welsh - in fact the opposite is true."

In a letter to Mr Jones, the society said: "We demand that you apologise for the erroneous figures you published, and that you hold an inquiry into how the mistake was made."

Councillor Jones offered to meet a representative from the society to discuss the issues.