Welsh 'need language commissioner'
Tuesday, 2 December 2008 12:00 AM
The Welsh Assembly should receive a commissioner to protect the rights of Welsh and English speakers, the Conservatives have said.
The plans will be presented tomorrow by the South Wales Central AM, David Melding.
The formation of an Office of Language Commissioner would effectively establish Welsh and English as the official languages of Wales, thereby fulfilling the party's 2007 Assembly election manifesto commitment.
Conservative AM David Melding accused the Labour-Plaid Assembly government of not taking any such measure to develop language legislation, despite their promises to do so.
"People will be looking to the Labour-Plaid Assembly government to respond favourably to my proposals," said Mr Melding.
In addition to protecting the rights of both English and Welsh speakers in Wales, the duties of the language commissioner post would include promoting greater use of Welsh, overseeing existing language legislation, responding to complaints, and enforcing language rights.
Mr Melding stressed the proposal would not discriminate between Welsh and English speakers and would not pressure the private sector to use Welsh in the workplace.
Still, he did reiterate the Conservative's commitment to "increasing the uses of Welsh in all spheres of life in Wales".
He added: "It was a Conservative government which laid the foundations for a bilingual Wales through the Welsh Language Act.
"We need to recognise that the Welsh language belongs to Wales and to all the people of Wales."
Newsletter sign up