Welsh language spending study considered by ministers

There has been a drop in the number of people who can speak Welsh in the last decade

The Welsh government is considering how to measure the impact its spending decisions have on the Welsh language.

The Welsh Language Society (Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg) says it follows its meeting with the minister responsible for the language, Leighton Andrews.

The Welsh government already holds an annual assessment of the effect of its spending in the field of equality.

Ministers confirmed that they are now considering doing the same for the Welsh language for their next budget.

The Welsh government's total annual spending is around £15bn.

A Welsh government spokesperson said: "Officers from the Welsh language sub-division are considering how to assess the effect of language on government spend.

"The process of assessing the effect of spending already happens in the field of equality, and the officers are therefore considering the viability of using the same process to assess the effect on the Welsh language for the next budget."

'Encouraging'

Cymdeithas yr Iaith has given a guarded welcome to the news.

Toni Schiavone, the society's spokesman on sustainable communities, said: "It's encouraging news and it shows that our work is starting to take effect.

"However, we still need to look at the detail and ensure that the pattern of government spending changes.

"For example, we are worried that the review possibly won't be independent enough.

"We've seen plenty of examples where the pattern of government spending completely undermines the Welsh language, so we really need to see some change following this review," he added.

According to Cymdeithas yr Iaith, a request using the Freedom of Information Act in April showed that less than £4,000 was set aside for Welsh language activities in the field of education in the workplace and community.

The budget for the whole scheme was nearly £17m.

At the time ministers said provision for the Welsh language needed to be expanded and that a review had begun.