Correspondence from the Petitioner to the Clerk, 03.01.13

Dear Naomi Stocks,

I would like to thank you for seeking my views on the Minister’s correspondence. I have read his response and considered it very carefully.

I welcome the implementation of the Measure and believe that the new standards will help develop the provision of Welsh-medium services in the public sector and, in particular, the provision of bilingual services in the following sectors: electricity, gas, water, telecommunications, mail and public transport.

I welcome the Minister’s explanation, but I still believe that we need the capability to impose standards on other private companies. In my opinion, duties should be imposed on banks to offer bilingual services, in particular, but also on some other private companies. 

As someone who has learned Welsh, I believe that it is very important to offer every kind of service on a bilingual basis in order to persuade everyone who wants to use or learn Welsh to do so, and to provide them with support. 

In the wake of the census results relating to the Welsh language, which were released before Christmas, it is more important than ever to ensure that Welsh speakers and learners have as many opportunities as possible to use the language. People will not use Welsh often or become fluent without having the opportunity to use the language in their everyday lives. I also believe that we need to change the way in which we teach Welsh as a second language in our schools, though this is not part of my petition.

Once again, I would like to thank you for giving me this opportunity.

Sincerely,

Gethin Sugar