The Welsh language

Statistics published by the Welsh Government. Each chart covers the years since the 2016 Senedd election, or as far back as the figures go, and marks each election since.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

How we show official statisticsFigures on this brief quoted in the Senedd (11)

The Programme for Government 2026 to 2030 belongs to the Seventh Senedd. Choose the Seventh Senedd to see how often each commitment has come up.

Source: Welsh Government, Programme for government 2026 to 2030: New ambition for Wales, first published on 10 September 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Mentions are found by matching the names of plans, bodies and schemes; a mention says nothing about progress.

Statements, debates and legislation in Plenary on this brief, newest first. Oral question sessions are counted in the contributions below.

1. 8 October 2024Statement

   Welsh-medium education through late immersion

   Statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Education

   Opened by Y Dirprwy Lywydd / The Deputy Presiding Officer16 contributions

2. 1 October 2024Statement

   Welsh-medium education through late immersion

   Statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Education

   Opened by Y Llywydd / The Llywydd1 contribution

3. 16 July 2024Statement

   The Welsh Language and Education (Wales) Bill

   Statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care

   Opened by Y Llywydd / The Llywydd19 contributions

4. 5 July 2023Debate

   Debate on the Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee Report—'The legislative framework that supports Welsh-medium education provision'

   Opened by Y Dirprwy Lywydd / The Deputy Presiding Officer16 contributions

5. 12 July 2022Statement

   10-year Welsh in Education Strategic Plans

   Statement by the Minister for Education and Welsh Language

   Opened by Y Dirprwy Lywydd / The Deputy Presiding Officer18 contributions

Votes are tagged from their own titles and the agenda item they were held under.

Ministers' meetings with outside organisations and their engagements on this brief, from the register the Welsh Government publishes every three months. 2 since the 2026 election; the latest:

1. 28 July 2026

   Meeting Ioan Matthews/CMEWL - Chief Executive of Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol

   Meeting, Deputy Minister for Skills and Tertiary Education

2. 28 July 2026

   Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol

   Meeting, Cabinet Minister for Education and the Welsh Language

Source: Welsh Government, ministerial meetings and engagements. The register is published three months or more after the meetings it lists.

48 written questions to the Welsh Government on this brief in the Sixth Senedd, 47 answered so far. The latest:

1. Siân GwenllianPlaid16 March 2026

   Further to WQ98216, what plans are in place to improve access for children to suitable SARC facilities in north Wales, and how will the mapping exercise ensure that children who travel outside their region receive timely care, steered by trauma, including the support of a Children's Domestic Abuse Advisor (CHIDVA) and…

   To the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Trefnydd and Chief Whip. Answered 24 March 2026

2. Siân GwenllianPlaid16 March 2026

   Further to WQ98206, WQ98207 and WQ98202, how is the Welsh Government ensuring that CHIDVA roles are funded and staffed according to what is needed, rather than historical data, including Level 3 and above qualification levels, and sufficient provision in rural and Welsh-medium areas?

   To the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Trefnydd and Chief Whip. Answered 24 March 2026

3. Rhys ab OwenIndependent10 March 2026

   What consideration has the Welsh Government given to introducing a unified national policy requiring all local authorities to provide free home-to-school transport to the nearest Welsh-medium secondary school for learners in year 7 to year 13?

   To the Cabinet Secretary for Transport and North Wales. Answered 19 March 2026

4. Gareth DaviesConservative12 February 2026

   What guidance does the Welsh Government provide to local authorities on interpreting the “nearest suitable school” under the Learner Travel (Wales) Measure 2008 when a parent expresses a preference for fully Welsh-medium education?

   To the Cabinet Secretary for Transport and North Wales. Answered 23 February 2026

5. Darren MillarConservative15 September 2025

   Is the Welsh Government on track to opening all 60 of the new Welsh-medium nursery groups set out in Cymraeg 2050?

   To the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Welsh Language. Answered 22 September 2025

All 48 written questions on this brief

1 petition to the Senedd on this brief:

1. Keep Welsh-speaking children with complex needs in Wales — stop placements in England

   Closed

   560 signatures

Committee sessions where this brief was on the agenda, newest first.

1. 24 October 2024Children, Young People, and Education Committee

   Welsh Language and Education (Wales) Bill - evidence session 16

   180 contributions

2. 23 October 2024Finance Committee

   Evidence session

   Financial implications of the Welsh Language and Education (Wales) Bill

   135 contributions

3. 21 October 2024Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee

   evidence session

   The Welsh Language and Education (Wales) Bill

   91 contributions

4. 17 October 2024Children, Young People, and Education Committee

   Welsh Language and Education (Wales) Bill - evidence session 15

   145 contributions

5. 17 October 2024Children, Young People, and Education Committee

   Welsh Language and Education (Wales) Bill - evidence session 14

   78 contributions

6. 17 October 2024Children, Young People, and Education Committee

   Welsh Language and Education (Wales) Bill - evidence session 13

   89 contributions

7. 9 October 2024Children, Young People, and Education Committee

   Welsh Language and Education (Wales) Bill - evidence session 12

   42 contributions

8. 9 October 2024Children, Young People, and Education Committee

   Welsh Language and Education (Wales) Bill - evidence session 11

   70 contributions

Articles by Senedd Research, the Senedd's impartial research service, on this brief, published in the Sixth Senedd.

1. Senedd to consider further amendments to the Welsh Language and Education Bill: In Brief

   2 May 2025

   Stage 3 of the Senedd’s consideration of the Welsh Language and Education (Wales) Bill will take place on Tuesday 6 May. In this article, we set out some relevant background, including our summary of changes to the Bill at Stage 2.

2. Welsh Language and Education (Wales) Bill: Summary of changes at Stage 2

   22 April 2025

   The Welsh Language and Education (Wales) Bill proposes changes to the way Welsh language education is planned and delivered, with an aim that all school pupils become independent Welsh language users by the time they reach the end of compulsory school age.

3. Welsh Language and Education Bill: support for the principles but concerns over workforce capacity

   10 January 2025

   Cymraeg 2050, the Welsh Government’s Welsh language strategy, aims to increase the number of Welsh speakers to one million, and double daily use of Welsh from 10% to 20% by 2050.

More from Senedd Research on this subject

Titles and summaries are Senedd Research's own, © Senedd Commission. How we match articles to briefs.

2,273 contributions in the Sixth Senedd, newest first.

1. Laura Anne JonesConservative

   28 February 2024, Children, Young People, and Education Committee

   General scrutiny of the Minister for Education and the Welsh Language

   …of Welsh, particularly in core subjects. We've got a wonderful school coming in Monmouthshire—a new Welsh-medium school—and I'm just concerned there's going to be no-one to fill it.

   Tagged for: “Welsh-medium”Official Record

2. Jeremy MilesLabour

   28 February 2024, Children, Young People, and Education Committee

   General scrutiny of the Minister for Education and the Welsh Language

   …which is so important. One of the things that we've been doing in another context is to look at—the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol is helping us with this—how we can develop a network of links with students who decide to go and study in England or Scotland, for example, and then specifically encourage…

   Tagged for: “Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol”Translated from WelshOfficial Record

3. Vaughan GethingLabour

   27 February 2024, Plenary

   Statement by the Minister for Economy: Policy Statement on Apprenticeships

   …action plan, both meeting industry demand and securing better apprenticeship outcomes. The role of the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol has been expanded to provide targeted support for the further education and apprenticeship sectors. The coleg will continue to identify sectors where new frameworks or…

   Tagged for: “Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol”, “Welsh-medium”Official Record

4. Jane O’Toole

   26 February 2024, Equality and Social Justice Committee

   Childcare follow-up inquiry: evidence session 2

   …community—that is really working well as far as integration's concerned. And I know that is purely a Welsh-medium project, but it definitely has possibilities. You know, it's going to come back to funding. But, the funding, I think, looking at grants for settings to take that step. It's a risk to…

   Tagged for: “Welsh-medium”Official Record

5. Jane O’Toole

   26 February 2024, Equality and Social Justice Committee

   Childcare follow-up inquiry: evidence session 2

   …to have cover staff if the training is during working hours. As part of our CYMell project, the Welsh-medium training that we're doing, we're offering bursaries to allow childcare settings to have money to either pay the staff to go on training or to have cover staff if it's during work time. I…

   Tagged for: “Welsh-medium”Official Record

6. Sarah Coates

   26 February 2024, Equality and Social Justice Committee

   Childcare follow-up inquiry: evidence session 2

   …through that journey and they need to increase the Welsh language of all of their staff to become a Welsh-medium provision. But it's really good to see how the sector are taking that on board.

   Tagged for: “Welsh-medium”Official Record

7. Jane O’Toole

   26 February 2024, Equality and Social Justice Committee

   Childcare follow-up inquiry: evidence session 2

   …Welsh Government, through CWLWM, both Mudiad and ourselves, Clybiau Plant Cymru Kids' Clubs, around Welsh-medium training; it's going well. We’ve already trained 120 staff to train in playwork, so they’ll be able to support out-of-school childcare. A lot of them are cylchoedd meithrin staff…

   Tagged for: “Welsh-medium”Official Record

8. Jenny RathboneLabour

   26 February 2024, Equality and Social Justice Committee

   Childcare follow-up inquiry: evidence session 1

   My final question really goes back to what Hayli was saying about the school where the bilingual provision has moved to Welsh-medium provision elsewhere, and they used that to expand the childcare on offer in that school. Even in an urban area like my constituency, there are plenty of schools with…

   Tagged for: “Welsh-medium”Official Record

9. Hayli Gibson

   26 February 2024, Equality and Social Justice Committee

   Childcare follow-up inquiry: evidence session 1

   …that, so we are in the very, very early stages. We've got one primary school in Pembrokeshire, where a Welsh-medium has now been built—a Welsh-medium school. That was a bilingual school, so the Welsh-medium are moving out, and they've left surplus spaces, but actually they are now going to be…

   Tagged for: “Welsh-medium”Official Record

10. Sioned Evans

    21 February 2024, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee

    Evidence Session with the Welsh Government: Covering Teachers' Absence

    …has seen an increase in the number of teachers coming through, and 72 eligible individuals received the Welsh-medium teacher retention bursary in 2023. So, it's having an impact, but it's quite early days, and therefore we won't yet have done the assessment that we need to do to have a look at the…

    Tagged for: “Welsh-medium”Official Record

11. Owain Lloyd

    21 February 2024, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee

    Evidence Session with the Welsh Government: Covering Teachers' Absence

    …don't work, we will try other things, and, certainly, we work with universities and others, and the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol, for example, in order to try and address this specific challenge.

    Tagged for: “Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol”Translated from WelshOfficial Record

12. Jeremy MilesLabour

    21 February 2024, Plenary

    Questions to the Minister for Education and the Welsh Language

    …has more broadly in this area. So, I absolutely recognise and agree with that. And the work that the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol does in order to make available options for people to study medicine and dentistry through the medium of Welsh is absolutely fantastic and a really positive development. I…

    Tagged for: “Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol”Official Record

13. Jeremy MilesLabour

    21 February 2024, Plenary

    Questions to the Minister for Education and the Welsh Language

    …of funding through our universal free school meals programme, and £43 million-worth of funding for Welsh-medium education projects.

    Tagged for: “Welsh-medium”Official Record

14. Samuel KurtzConservative

    21 February 2024, Plenary

    Questions to the Minister for Education and the Welsh Language

    The town of Pembroke in my constituency is not often considered to be a Welsh-speaking town, but there's a new Welsh-medium primary school being built in the area, and it will certainly help to provide Welsh-medium education, which is to be welcomed. However, may I ask what support the Welsh…

    Tagged for: “Welsh-medium”Translated from WelshOfficial Record

15. Jeremy MilesLabour

    21 February 2024, Plenary

    Questions to the Minister for Education and the Welsh Language

    …we continue to look closely with Mudiad Meithrin and local authorities to increase the availability of Welsh-medium childcare provision by investing both in the workforce and in building new settings across Wales. Since 2022, we've provided additional funding of around £3.7 million to our childcare…

    Tagged for: “Welsh-medium”Official Record

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