Communities, Equality and Local Government Committee

 

CELG(4)-06-11 : Paper 2

 

Welsh Language draft budget within the Education and Skills portfolio

 

Purpose

 

  1. To provide an evidence paper for the Communities, Equality and Local Government Committee on the Welsh language draft budget allocation within the Education and Skills portfolio for 2012-13.

 

  1. It is important to note that the figures outlined in the paper are for those identified within specific programmes. It is not possible to provide figures for the overall costs of promoting the language, since bilingualism is an integral part of the Welsh Government’s vision and providing services bilingually is mainstreamed across all areas of its work. 

 

Timing

  1. The draft budget was published on 4th October 2011.

 

The 2012-13 Education and Skills Draft Budget

4.    The 2012-13 Draft Budget provides a three year plan for investment in the provision of education and skills in Wales.  Table 1 provides an overview of the planned Education and Skills budget or ‘main expenditure group’ (MEG) together with the changes made to the indicative budget since the publication of the last Supplementary Budget in June 2011 (which restated the Education and Skills budget taking into account portfolio changes from Final Budget).

 

Table 1:  Education and Skills MEG

 

Budget

2012-13

2013-14

2014-15

 

Published June 2011

Supp. June 2011

Changes

Proposed Budget

Supp. June 2011

Changes

Proposed Budget

Supp. June 2011

Changes

Proposed Budget

 

£m

£m

£m

£m

£m

£m

£m

£m

£m

£m

Revenue

1,630.2

1,627.6

20.6

1,648.2

1,647.6

27.2

1,674.8

1,647.6

34.8

1,682.4

Capital

169.9

161.3

0

161.3

143.8

0

143.8

143.8

0

143.8

Total DEL

1,800.1

1,788.9

20.6

1,809.5

1,791.4

27.2

1,818.6

1,791.4

34.8

1,826.2

AME

125.3

122.3

28.2

150.5

112

49.3

161.3

112

41.3

153.3

TOTAL

1,925.4

1,911.2

48.8

1,960.0

1,903.4

76.5

1,979.9

1,903.4

76.1

1,979.5

 

 

  1. A similar evidence paper prepared for the Enterprise and Business Committee meeting on 12 October includes detailed information in relation to the whole Education and Skills budget.

 

Welsh Language Unit/Welsh Language Commissioner

 

  1. The Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011 was approved by the National Assembly for Wales on 7 December 2010 and received Royal Assent on 9 February 2011. The Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011 provides for the abolition of the Welsh Language Board, and the establishment of the Welsh Language Commissioner by 1 April 2012. The Measure will bring in significant changes, with the creation of a Welsh Language Commissioner, Welsh Language Tribunal and a new system of Welsh Language Standards.

 

  1. The Welsh Government’s draft budget for 2011-14 published in November 2010 included the total funding for the 2011-12 financial year and the indicative figures for the 2012-13 and 2013-14 financial years. This was also confirmed in the Welsh Language Board’s Remit Letter for the 2011-12 financial year

 

http://wales.gov.uk/docs/drah/publications/20110414remitlettertoWLB2011eng.pdf

 

  1. The proposed budget allocations for the Welsh Language Unit is outlined in the table below. The allocations for 2012/13 and 2013/14 will be split between the Welsh Language Commissioner and the Welsh Government (as discussed below):

                       

Table 2 Revenue Budget Allocation

 

2011/12

£000

2012/13

£000

2013/14

£000

2014/15

£000

Running Costs

 4,427

 4,427

 4,427

4,427

Current Expenditure

9,446

9,546

9,646

9,646

Current Receipts

  (200)

 (200)

 (200)

(200)

Capital Expenditure

50

100

100

100

Depreciation

131

131

131

131

Patagonia Welsh Language Project

54

54

54

54

Welsh Language Publicity

20

20

20

20

Total

13,928

14,078

14,178

14,178

 

6. The Welsh Language Board’s current expenditure line is distributed as follows during the 2011-12 financial year:

 

·         £2.87m (30%) is distributed to local authorities to promote Welsh medium and bilingual education;

·         £4.60m (49%) is distributed as grants to promote the language;

·         £1.98m (21%) is allocated to projects.

 

7.    Responsibility for most of the Welsh Language Board’s grants and projects will transfer to the Welsh Government in April 2012, along with responsibility for community development.  This includes grants to Welsh language organisations such as the National Eisteddfod, Urdd Gobaith Cymru, Mudiad Ysgolion Meithrin and the Mentrau Iaith.

 

8.    The Commissioner’s Office will be responsible for Standards, Terminology, Translation and Technology – as well as implementing the new system of Welsh language Standards.

 

9.    The indicative increase for the extended Welsh Language Unit/Welsh Language Commissioner’s Office is to support the implementation of the proposed Welsh language strategy.  The final version of the strategy is being finalised. This follows a consultation on the draft strategy between 13 December 2010 and 4 February 2011, and the publication of a statement by the previous Minister for Heritage on 22 March 2011 which summarised the main themes raised during the consultation and set out actions for the coming year as the strategy and associated action plan are finalised.

 

10. The final strategy will reflect the content of the Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011, and complement the Welsh Medium Education Strategy (see below).

 

11. The new strategy, once finalised, will replace the current national action plan for a bilingual Wales, Iaith Pawb.

 

12. There are six strategic aims in the draft strategy, which are:

§ strengthening the position of the Welsh language in the community;

§ encouraging and supporting the transfer of the language within families;

§ increasing the provision of Welsh medium activities for, and the promotion of the value of Welsh amongst, children and young people;

§ improving Welsh language services to citizens;

§ increasing opportunities for people to use Welsh in the workplace; and

§ strengthening the infrastructure for the language.

 

13. Running costs are protected to help with the task of establishing the Welsh Language Commissioner’s office and the transfer of functions to the Welsh Government

 

 

14. The distribution of the funding between the Welsh Language Unit and the Welsh Language Commissioner have not yet been finalised. Detailed discussions about future budget arrangements are currently taking place, but it is anticipated that the Commissioner’s annual budget will be in the region of around £4million, with around £9million of the Welsh Language Board’s current budget being retained by the Welsh Government.

 

15. Of the £9million being retained by the Welsh Government, around £4 million will be added to the Welsh in Education (formerly the Welsh Language Development) budget line, with the balance being administered by the Welsh Language Unit.

 

16. The project to manage the transition to the new arrangements, including ongoing work to finalise budgets, is being carried out jointly by the Welsh Government and the Welsh Language Board.

 

Welsh Language Teaching Project in Patagonia (£54k)

 

17.This funding is provided to British Council Wales who manage the Welsh language project in Patagonia on behalf of the Welsh Government. The project is managed by the British Council in collaboration with the Wales-Argentina Society and the Welsh for Adults Centre - Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan, Cardiff University.

 

18. The project allows for the secondment of teachers to key target communities in Patagonia, the development of native teachers, the establishment of structured courses and the promotion of Welsh language activities. 

 

Welsh medium Education Strategy – developmental budget

 

19.The continued delivery of the Welsh-medium Education Strategy is a key commitment in the Programme for Government for 2011-16. The Strategy outlines a long-term agenda for the continued development of Welsh-medium and Welsh-language education and training, and therefore successful implementation will require ongoing investment from the Welsh Government. It has been operational since May 2010 and the first annual progress report on implementation was published in July 2011.

 

20.Some important achievements during the first year of implementation have included:

·         important developmental work to improve the planning of Welsh-medium education, including the establishment of, and informal consultation on, new Welsh in Education Strategic Plans;

·         the creation of an amalgamated Welsh in Education grant with a new focus which will assist local authorities in meeting the objectives expected of them as outlined in the Strategy from 2012 onwards;

·         the continued development of new Welsh-medium provision, including vocational provision, for the 14-19 age range;

·         significant investment in a national framework for practitioner training  through the Welsh Language Sabbaticals Scheme;

·         continued support for the provision of opportunities for adults to learn Welsh through the Welsh for Adults programme; and

·         the commissioning of new Welsh-medium teaching and learning resources.

 

21.The current budget for implementing the Welsh-medium Education Strategy is set at £12.377 million per financial year (Welsh Language Development BEL 5164). From 2011-12, this includes £2.28 million in order to fund the new Welsh in Education Grant (WEG). For 2011-12, the WEG is administering funding previously provided by the Welsh language element of the Better Schools Fund (Priority Area 2). For future years, it will also consolidate funding provided by grants currently administered by the Welsh Language Board.

 

22.In addition to the specific Welsh-medium Education Strategy budget, funding for Welsh-medium education and training is also mainstreamed into policies and programmes managed by other teams across DfES.

 

23.Indicative budgets indicate that the budget for implementing the Welsh-medium Education Strategy will be protected at current levels. This will enable a range of developmental work to be undertaken in support of the priority actions identified in the Strategy. From 2012-13 onwards, funding of approximately £4 million will also be transferred to the Welsh Government from the Welsh Language Board, to enable the transfer of the Board’s current responsibilities with regard to education.

 

24.The main areas of work funded by the 2011-12 Welsh-medium Education Strategy budget are indicated in the table below:-

 

Table 3 Main areas funded by the 2011-12 Welsh-medium Education Strategy

 

 

Expenditure

Improving planning of Welsh-medium education and development of provision (including 14-19, FE colleges)

£1.450m

Welsh in Education Grant

£2.280m

Developing linguistic skills (including Welsh for Adults and Welsh second language interventions)

£2.840m

Practitioner training (including the Welsh-language Sabbaticals Scheme)

£2.907m

Commissioning of teaching and learning resources

£2.900m

 

£12.377m*

* Additional sum of approximately £4 million will be added to this budget in 2012-13 to cover grants currently administered by the Welsh Language Board  to Mudiad Meithrin, to local authorities for athrawon bro (Welsh-language specialist peripatetic teachers) and a few other very small education grants.

 

23. There are no significant changes planned for 2012-13, although the proportion of the budget to be utilised to support each of the key areas listed above will vary according to the actions prioritised for consideration during 2012-13. All expenditure will be clearly aligned to the Strategy’s six strategic aims.

 

Welsh Language Expenditure within other Programmes in the Education and Skills MEG

 

25.Table 4 includes information on distribution of funding on Welsh language projects within other programmes in the Education and Skills MEG during the 2011/12 financial year. The budget for 2012-13 has not yet been disaggregated below BEL level.

 

Table 4 Welsh Language Expenditure within other Programme in the Education and Skills MEG

Within other Programme SPAs

2011/12

 

£000

For Our Future BEL

 

  Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol

3,150

  Welsh Medium Scholorships

130

Learner Provision BEL

 

  Welsh for Adults/Welsh Language Centres

10,288

Qualifications BEL

 

  Welsh Medium Quals (WMES)

757

Additional Learning Needs BEL

 

  Welsh Assessment Toolkit

30

Foundation Phase BEL

 

  Iaith Pawb (WM Practitioners Training)

2,000

Literacy and Numeracy BEL

 

  Welsh Books Council grant

169

14-19 Learning BEL

 

   WM elemnt of annual NDP allocations

1,200

Teacher Recruitment BEL

 

  TDA MoU compliance

65

  Welsh Medium Improvement Scheme

280

 

18,069

 

 

Summary

 

26.The Welsh language draft budget allocation within the Education and Skills portfolio for 2012-13 is presented to the committee for consideration.