History
Welsh is one of the oldest living languages in Europe and is one of the 239 languages spoken in Europe and one of 18 spoken in the UK (Source – Ethnologue.com). It belongs to the Celtic branch of Indo-European languages, which also includes Irish, Scots, Gaelic, Manx, Cornish and Breton and pre-dates Anglo-Saxon or Old English on the British mainland. By 2007, South East Wales has a low, but steadily increasing number of Welsh speakers.
Welsh Language SchemeThe Council’s revised scheme received the approval of the Welsh Language Board under Section 14(1) of the Welsh Language Act on the 13th January 2006.
Statement
Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council has adopted the principle that in the conduct of Public Business it will treat the Welsh and English Languages on the basis of equality.
- It will offer the public the right to choose which language to use in their dealings with the Council.
- It recognises that Members of the public can express their views and needs better in their preferred language.
- It recognises that enabling the public to use their preferred language is a matter of good practice, not a concession.
- This scheme sets out how the Council will implement that principle in the provision of bilingual services to the public in Wales.
- This scheme refers specifically to the Welsh Language, any other languages will be covered by the Council’s Race Equality Scheme.
Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council’s first Welsh Language Scheme was agreed by the Welsh Language Board on the 23rd January 1998. Its aim was to provide a Welsh Language Service that met the needs of Welsh speaking people of Blaenau Gwent, whether fluent, or one of the many hundreds of adults and young people learning the Welsh Language in our Community Education Centres and Schools. It has represented a major change in the Council’s working practices to ensure that the Welsh Language is mainstreamed within every aspect of Service provision. This has been a significant challenge to Members and Officers and their continued commitment and professionalism will be a vital factor in the implementation of the Welsh Language Scheme in the years to come.
The census of 2001 has given us an indication of the remarkable growth of the language in this area in the last 10 years. In 1991 there were only 1,696 or 2.4% of the population aged 3 years and over who spoke Welsh. In 2001 that had risen to 6,241 or 9.5%. We would like to think that through our Education and Lifelong Learning service, Community Education Centres and “In-house” staff provision that we as a Council have in some measure helped towards this significant increase in Welsh Language speakers in Blaenau Gwent in the last ten years. We intend that the attached scheme builds on the work started in 1998 to embed the Welsh Language more firmly in the Council’s core values and improve service delivery via the Welsh Language over the next 3 years.
The Council is working closely with the newly established Blaenau Gwent, Torfaen, Mynwy, Menter Iaith (www.menterbgtm.org) on a number of projects to raise awareness about Welsh language matters and promote the Council and other services.
