asked the Secretary of State for Wales how many (a) primary schoolchildren and (b) secondary school students attend Welsh-medium schools, or units, in each local education authority area in Wales; what proportion of the total they represent in each case; and what are the corresponding figures for each year since 1977.
The information is not readily available, and I shall reply as soon as possible.
asked the Secretary of State for Wales how many and what proportion of schoolchildren (a) entering secondary education and (b) leaving secondary education in each local education authority area in Wales in each year since 1977 were (i) fluent in the Welsh language, (ii) had some working knowledge of the Welsh language but were not fluent or (iii) had little or no knowledge of the Welsh language.
Information in the form requested is not available. Figures given in the following tables show, however, the numbers and percentages of pupils in their final year of primary school who were assessed by headteachers as being fluent in Welsh.
Clwyd
| Dyfed
| Gwent
| Gwynedd
| Mid Glamorgan
| Powys
| South Glamorgan
| West Glamorgan
| |
1978:
| ||||||||
| Category A | 365 | 1,131 | 5 | 1,554 | 36 | 102 | 91 | 188 |
| Category B | 474 | 522 | 23 | 692 | 348 | 122 | 55 | 144 |
| Category C | 5,324 | 3,162 | 7,215 | 1,150 | 8,348 | 1,328 | 5,624 | 5,231 |
1979:
| ||||||||
| Category A | 314 | 1,115 | 5 | 1,611 | 36 | 114 | 97 | 163 |
| Category B | 390 | 633 | 18 | 798 | 366 | 76 | 60 | 154 |
| Category C | 5,716 | 3,086 | 7,166 | 1,095 | 8,479 | 1,466 | 5,566 | 5,117 |
1980:
| ||||||||
| Category A | 318 | 1,110 | — | 1,557 | 52 | 107 | 83 | 190 |
| Category B | 371 | 661 | 40 | 756 | 399 | 73 | 91 | 183 |
| Category C | 5,504 | 3,066 | 6,669 | 1,078 | 8,050 | 1,372 | 5,280 | 4,698 |
1981:
| ||||||||
| Category A | 341 | 1,077 | 39 | 1,631 | 37 | 117 | 73 | 171 |
| Category B | 368 | 644 | 40 | 842 | 469 | 110 | 151 | 275 |
| Category C | 5,585 | 3,107 | 6,983 | 1,119 | 8,325 | 1,404 | 5,445 | 4,889 |
1982:
| ||||||||
| Category A | 322 | 999 | 3 | 1,487 | 49 | 103 | 78 | 184 |
| Category B | 397 | 641 | 33 | 769 | 456 | 73 | 88 | 138 |
| Category C | 5,224 | 2,852 | 6,461 | 1,052 | 7,749 | 1,386 | 4,996 | 4,596 |
1983:
| ||||||||
| Category A | 277 | 962 | 2 | 1,397 | 53 | 86 | 116 | 201 |
| Category B | 423 | 694 | 40 | 905 | 484 | 94 | 62 | 146 |
| Category C | 4,749 | 2,682 | 5,866 | 881 | 7,157 | 1,301 | 4,744 | 4,296 |
1984:
| ||||||||
| Category A | 216 | 884 | 3 | 1,266 | 60 | 88 | 48 | 145 |
| Category B | 416 | 652 | 46 | 868 | 461 | 97 | 87 | 143 |
| Category C | 4,496 | 2,524 | 5,567 | 854 | 6,661 | 1,294 | 4,647 | 4,158 |
1985:
| ||||||||
| Category A | 231 | 827 | 1 | 1,183 | 40 | 103 | 45 | 116 |
| Category B | 464 | 803 | 48 | 949 | 510 | 86 | 111 | 121 |
| Category C | 4,216 | 2,320 | 5,340 | 657 | 6,362 | 1,186 | 4,274 | 4,103 |
1 Category A = pupils whose home language is Welsh. | ||||||||
2 Category B = pupils whose home language is not Welsh but who can speak Welsh with fluency. | ||||||||
3 Category C = pupils who do not speak Welsh fluently or cannot speak Welsh at all. | ||||||||
Note:
These figures are derived from assessments of fluency made by headteachers.
Percentage of pupils aged 10 and over in maintained primary schools
| ||||||||
Clwyd
| Dyfed
| Gwent
| Gwynedd
| Mid Glamorgan
| Powys
| South Glamorgan
| West Glamorgan
| |
1977
| ||||||||
| Category A1 | 5·9 | 24·3 | 0·1 | 47·1 | 0·6 | 6·4 | 0·9 | 3·2 |
| Category B2 | 5·7 | 9·9 | 0·2 | 17·4 | 3·9 | 6·3 | 1·0 | 2·7 |
| Category C3 | 88·4 | 65·8 | 99·7 | 34·9 | 95·5 | 87·3 | 98·1 | 94·1 |
1978
| ||||||||
| Category A | 5·9 | 23·5 | 0·1 | 45·7 | 0·4 | 6·6 | 1·6 | 3·4 |
| Category B | 7·7 | 10·8 | 0·3 | 25·4 | 4·0 | 7·8 | 0·9 | 2·6 |
| Category C | 86·4 | 65·7 | 99·6 | 28·9 | 95·6 | 85·6 | 97·5 | 94·0 |
1979
| ||||||||
| Category A | 4·9 | 23·1 | 0·1 | 46·0 | 0·4 | 6·9 | 1·7 | 3·0 |
| Category B | 6·1 | 13·1 | 0·2 | 22·8 | 4·1 | 4·6 | 1·0 | 2·8 |
| Category C | 89·0 | 63·8 | 99·7 | 31·2 | 95·5 | 88·5 | 97·3 | 94·2 |
1980
| ||||||||
| Category A | 5·1 | 22·9 | — | 45·9 | 0·6 | 6·9 | 1·5 | 3·7 |
| Category B | 6·0 | 13·7 | 0·6 | 22·3 | 4·7 | 4·7 | 1·7 | 3·7 |
| Category C | 88·9 | 63·4 | 99·4 | 31·8 | 94·7 | 88·4 | 96·8 | 92·6 |
1981
| ||||||||
| Category A | 5·4 | 22·3 | 0·5 | 45·4 | 0·4 | 7·2 | 1·3 | 3·2 |
| Category B | 5·9 | 13·3 | 0·6 | 23·4 | 5·3 | 6·7 | 2·7 | 5·2 |
| Category C | 88·7 | 64·4 | 98·9 | 31·2 | 94·3 | 86·1 | 960 | 91·6 |
Clwyd
| Dyfed
| Gwent
| Gwynedd
| Mid Glamorgan
| Powys
| South Glamorgan
| West Glamorgan
| |
1982
| ||||||||
| Category A | 5·4 | 22·2 | 0·1 | 45·0 | 0·6 | 6·6 | 1·5 | 3·7 |
| Category B | 6·7 | 14·3 | 0·5 | 23·2 | 5·5 | 4·7 | 1·7 | 2·8 |
| Category C | 87·9 | 63·5 | 99·4 | 31·8 | 93·9 | 88·7 | 96·8 | 93·5 |
1983
| ||||||||
| Category A | 5·1 | 22·2 | — | 43·9 | 0·7 | 5·8 | 2·4 | 4·3 |
| Category B | 7·7 | 16·0 | 0·7 | 28·4 | 6·3 | 6·4 | 1·2 | 3·2 |
| Category C | 87·2 | 61·8 | 99·3 | 27·7 | 93·0 | 87·8 | 96·4 | 92·5 |
1984
| ||||||||
| Category A | 4·2 | 21·8 | 0·1 | 42·4 | 0·9 | 5·9 | 1·0 | 3·3 |
| Category B | 8·1 | 16·0 | 0·8 | 29·0 | 6·4 | 6·6 | 1·8 | 3·2 |
| Category C | 87·7 | 62·2 | 99·1 | 28·6 | 92·7 | 87·5 | 97·2 | 93·5 |
1985
| ||||||||
| Category A | 4·7 | 21·0 | — | 42·4 | 0·6 | 7·5 | 1·0 | 2·7 |
| Category B | 9·5 | 20·3 | 0·9 | 34·0 | 7·4 | 6·2 | 2·5 | 2·8 |
| Category C | 85·8 | 58·7 | 99·1 | 23·6 | 92·0 | 86·3 | 96·5 | 94·5 |
1 Category A = pupils whose home language is Welsh. | ||||||||
2 Category B = pupils whose home language is not Welsh but who can speak Welsh with fluency. | ||||||||
3 Category C = pupils who do not speak Welsh fluently or cannot speak Welsh at all. | ||||||||
Note:
These figures are derived from assessments of fluency made by headteachers.
asked the Secretary of State for Wales when he expects to be able to make a statement on the funding of the new Welsh language education development committee of the Welsh Joint Education Council.
I have told the Welsh Joint Education Committee that the Government are prepared to meet the necessary administrative expenses of the new Welsh Language Education Development Committee.
asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will outline in detail the proposed work of the new Welsh language education development committee of the Welsh Joint Education Council.
My right hon. Friend has said that he looks to the new Committee to provide a forum for discussion of policy by those responsible for the provision of Welsh medium education; to co-ordinate activities in Welsh language education, thereby ensuring the best and most economical use of available resources; to disseminate information; and to identify areas for further research and development. It will be for the Committee itself to consider in detail the work necessary for it to discharge this role.