, Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2023-24: Evidence session with the Minister for Education and Welsh Language
Certainly.
, Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2023-24: Evidence session with the Minister for Education and Welsh Language
Well, it goes to the sustainability of the organisation, so that we can support them in doing what we want them to do. And it goes back, to be honest, to the discussion on increasing usage; I think the National Eisteddfod has a very important role in helping…
, Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2023-24: Evidence session with the Minister for Education and Welsh Language
In terms of the Welsh in education BEL, if you look at the e-sgol element, there is a budget line there that allows that to happen in terms of collaboration between schools. So, last year, we more or less doubled that budget—from memory—and we've maintained…
, Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2023-24: Evidence session with the Minister for Education and Welsh Language
Certainly, very happy to do that. As I said, we're on this path now of moving—. We've got an integrated impact for the budget, but so that we can have the clear picture that you want, and I want, we need to improve the understanding of the impact of…
, Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2023-24: Evidence session with the Minister for Education and Welsh Language
No. That's what I was, more or less, trying to say earlier—it's not as clear as that. And that's the tension that we have, if I could just expand a little on that: what is expenditure on the Welsh language? So, if you look at the budget of the work that we're…
, Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2023-24: Evidence session with the Minister for Education and Welsh Language
Of course.
, Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2023-24: Evidence session with the Minister for Education and Welsh Language
I already do that. As a result of the work that was undertaken during COVID to see what the impact of COVID was financially on some of the promoting bodies, I asked those organisations to refocus on not just provide activities themselves, but also this idea…
, Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2023-24: Evidence session with the Minister for Education and Welsh Language
Okay. Would you like to come in on this element?
, Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2023-24: Evidence session with the Minister for Education and Welsh Language
Well, the fund is run by Cwmpas, the co-operative body in Wales, and what we recommend, working with the mentrau—
, Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2023-24: Evidence session with the Minister for Education and Welsh Language
No, but there is the fund, and we have provided new funding streams too.
, Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2023-24: Evidence session with the Minister for Education and Welsh Language
Well, that is an issue, of course. So, some of the partners we're funding have been given a flat settlement recently, and that's because of financial pressures, and that enables them to spend less on the initiatives that they're involved with, of course. What…
, Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2023-24: Evidence session with the Minister for Education and Welsh Language
We have the Iaith Athrawon Yfory scheme, which provides a financial incentive for people to come into the sector, but the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol is also piloting a bursary. Also, as you say, it's very important to find ways of attracting people in. An…
, Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2023-24: Evidence session with the Minister for Education and Welsh Language
I know, but the answer—. What I'm saying is that that's part of the picture.
, Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2023-24: Evidence session with the Minister for Education and Welsh Language
Well, in terms of revenue, that's settled through the RSG. But, in looking at the strategic plans, all of these discussions are related to the issue of how much provision you can make. We intend to open 23 new primary schools, for example. But one of the…
, Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2023-24: Evidence session with the Minister for Education and Welsh Language
One of the challenges of opening a new Welsh language school is that, in some communities, you go faster than the demand. That's what we want to do; we want to help create the demand. There's a revenue risk as a result of that, isn't there? What you see…
, Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2023-24: Evidence session with the Minister for Education and Welsh Language
Yes.
, Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2023-24: Evidence session with the Minister for Education and Welsh Language
Whatever the Welsh word is for 'rolling programme', they have that. So, all the work hasn't been completed. So, of course, there will be areas of Wales where there isn't sufficient provision currently. But, the scheme that Mudiad Meithrin has to increase the…
, Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2023-24: Evidence session with the Minister for Education and Welsh Language
That's a very fair question, because, of course, there are pressures on local authorities and non-statutory issues are more vulnerable in that context; that's something we understand. I would say that, if you look at where we use grants, that has—. For…
, Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2023-24: Evidence session with the Minister for Education and Welsh Language
Thank you for that. In terms of accountability, I am here today, of course, answering your questions, but not one Minister for the Welsh language can succeed in making the level of progress needed without having collaboration across Government as a whole…
, Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2023-24: Evidence session with the Minister for Education and Welsh Language
Well, more needs to be done in that regard, but as I said at the outset, if you look at where the emphasis of the budget is, the part focused on usage is the largest element of that budget—some £22 million. And that includes many things in the context that…
, Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2023-24: Evidence session with the Minister for Education and Welsh Language
Where does that data come from?
, Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2023-24: Evidence session with the Minister for Education and Welsh Language
Well, we need to look at the data in its context, so, I don't think that we will be making decisions in the next months in light of that. It's important to bear that in mind. One of the things that was a decision that I as Minister was required to make was…
, Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2023-24: Evidence session with the Minister for Education and Welsh Language
During the year—is that what you mean?
, Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2023-24: Evidence session with the Minister for Education and Welsh Language
Well, we're not changing the target, certainly. The census figures have shown a reduction. And as I've mentioned in many other contexts, that's a disappointment to us, but it's very important to see the broader context and that other sources of information do…
, Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2023-24: Evidence session with the Minister for Education and Welsh Language
Of course, it has been a very challenging budget. You will have heard from other Ministers that this is perhaps the most difficult budget in the era of devolution because of pressures from inflation and the fact that the settlement from Westminster hasn't…
