Latest news with #non-Welsh
BBC News
16-04-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Gwynedd: Fears Welsh teaching plan will hit recruitment
Phasing out teaching in English in one county could worsen a "crisis" in recruiting and retaining teachers, an education union has one of two counties where Welsh is spoken by the majority of people, laid out plans to phase out English-medium streams from the vast majority of secondary schools in a new draft Gwynedd said it was part of an effort to bolster the use of Welsh in a council meeting has heard it was already difficult to attract staff to the county and, nationally, teachers were leaving the profession "in droves". The comments were made during a debate over the draft revised education language policy last council is aiming for 70% of lessons to be taught in Welsh but the branch secretary of the National Education Union (NEU), Elise Poulter, has raised concerns over training, funding and the impact on the Welsh language immersion is already the predominant medium of teaching for across Gwynedd, but schools including Bangor's Ysgol Friars, Catholic primary Our Lady's School and Ysgol Uwchradd Tywyn, are "transitioning" towards full Welsh medium provision. Ms Poulter asked the education and economy scrutiny committee meeting if there was provision for teachers who do not teach in Welsh to go on courses to "up-skill".Report author Rhys Meredydd Glyn, head of Gwynedd's immersion education system, said the council was "collaborating with" the National Centre for Learning courses were "tailored" for teachers in specific schools and there would also be tutors appointed for a catchment or school cluster, as well as courses geared towards teaching different subjects in Welsh, he said. Children coming from non-Welsh speaking areas could also be referred to the immersion education system, but he acknowledged it needed "the capacity to accept incomers and late comers". 'We will have to be patient' Mr Meredydd Glyn said there were "a wide range of courses available from the national centre" but Ms Poulter said she feared these measures would not stem the numbers of people leaving teaching."I do think we have to be realistic, in teaching we have a retention and recruitment crisis," she said."We want really really good teachers. I think any teacher who comes here would welcome the opportunity to learn Welsh fluently... But it will take time."Councillor Dewi Jones agreed that recruiting teachers was a "general problem".After the meeting, Ms Poulter told the Local Democracy Reporting Serviceday-release programme for this, with payment for staff cover" to achieve the goal.
Telegraph
08-03-2025
- Sport
- Telegraph
Whole Six Nations should pray the Welsh revival is for real
In this build-up, Adam Jones, the Welsh scrum coach, has made a valiant attempt of piling the burden on Townsend's side – 'all pressure is on them' – but if they are, as Jones, says 'the best Scottish team ever' then they will be too good for an outfit taking baby steps. So what if it does come to pass and the outsiders revert to humble type. For Sherratt's final match – he is adamant that he will return to his role at Cardiff full-time – England at home would appear the perfect tonic and there can be little doubt that the Principality Stadium would be hymning and humming. But a 17th defeat would equal the worst run ever by a tier one nation – Scotland 70 years ago – and those quotation marks will appear more necessary than ever. At that point the resurgence would be but a fleeting memory and the submergence would resume its inexorable effect. Unless the Welsh Rugby Union acts decisively, there would be no coach and with the domestic game still mired in the shambles of an agreement with the regions that has yet to be published, the despondency could carry the national team to yet lower depths. Japan for the summer tour, anyone? New Zealand and South Africa on back-to-back weekends in November? By then, Wales's world ranking could feasibly be below not just Georgia, but that of Japan, Samoa and the United States. The notion of Six Nations relegation would become increasingly louder. Of course that is a nonsense and those who propose it – wise judges such as Sam Warburton, who should know better – are making the mistake of judging the championship purely as a sports competition. It is so much more. In its 142-year history, it has emerged as a cultural phenomenon, as an annual jamboree that sees more violence-free travel between countries than any other international sports event. Unless you have not been to the Principality Stadium and sampled the atmosphere that Brian O'Driscoll this week has labelled 'the best' or seen the Welsh fans make the trips in their tens of thousands, then you cannot deny what they add to the occasions. The support the smallest nation in the championship takes to Scotland has long been touted as the biggest away section in the Six Nations. 'It's a good place to play and the Welsh travel up there well,' Jones said, with a smirk. 'Max Boyce wrote a song about it, so it must be true.' Naturally, Boyce is one of the Welsh clichés and while not up there with the team of the Seventies or of the No 10 production line, he is part of the allure. And that enduring mythical quality is why so many non-Welsh people welcomed the sight of the twinkle-toed underdogs frightening the life out of the unstoppable Irish champions. It was a glimpse of the Welsh rugby iconography that under the highly effective but just as pragmatic Gatland had not been witnessed for years. Believe it, the Six Nations does not need a strong Wales but it will indeed shed priceless lustre if the Dragons are pathetically weak. It should not only be the Welsh wishing The Revival is for real – but the championship as a whole.
Yahoo
07-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Planners recommended against nuclear plant in 2019 citing fears for Welsh language
Planning inspectors recommended against a Hitachi-built nuclear power plant in Anglesey on the basis that it could dilute the island's Welsh language and culture, it has emerged. Hitachi scrapped plans to build a £20bn nuclear power plant at Wylfa in 2020 over cost concerns after failing to reach a funding agreement with UK ministers. Keir Starmer's government has vowed to make it easier to build major infrastructure projects by reforming the planning system and stopping campaigners from launching 'excessive' legal challenges. The prime minister unveiled plans for a historic expansion in nuclear power this week, vowing to 'push past nimbyism' and make sites across the country available for new power stations. Nuclear industry figures believe that the fate of Hitachi's proposed plant at Wylfa demonstrates the problems with the UK's planning system. Planning inspectors appointed by the UK government recommended that the project be rejected in 2019, warning of its impact on biodiversity, the local economy, housing stock and the Welsh language. The inspectors' 906-page report said the additional workers required by the project would put pressure on local housing and schools and that 'given the number of Welsh-speaking residents, this could adversely affect Welsh language and culture'. Hitachi carried out a Welsh language impact assessment as part of its application, which found that the project would need to bring 7,500 workers from outside the area. Anglesey has 70,000 residents and one of the highest concentrations of Welsh speakers in the country. The impact assessment concluded the extra workers 'could have a major adverse effect on the balance of Welsh and non-Welsh speakers' in the area and 'could adversely affect the use and prominence of the Welsh language within communities'. But the assessment also found that by creating high-skilled jobs for young people, the project would help preserve the Welsh language on the island. It would have created more than 2,000 local construction jobs for nine years, and about 85% of the plant's workforce would be local under the plans. Nevertheless, the inspectors' report concluded that 'the matters weighing against the proposed development outweigh the matters weighing in favour of it' and that despite planned mitigations the project could 'adversely affect tourism, the local economy, health and wellbeing and Welsh language and culture'. Related: What are small modular reactors and why does UK want to build them? It also found that the developers had not put forward enough evidence to demonstrate that the arctic and sandwich tern populations around the Cemlyn Bay area, where the plant was going to be built, would not be disturbed by construction. There were fears that the birds would abandon the area as a result. The last Conservative government revived plans for a large-scale nuclear power station at Wylfa and bought the site from Hitachi for £160m. In its election manifesto, Labour pledged to 'explore the opportunities for new nuclear at Wylfa'. Dan Tomlinson, the Labour MP for Chipping Barnet and the government's growth mission champion, said: 'It's no wonder we've gone from a world pioneer in new nuclear to lagging at the back. Now we've got a government that's willing to back the builders not the blockers, we can stop the delays so the UK can be at the forefront of new nuclear with more jobs and cheaper bills.' Tom Greatrex, the chief executive of the Nuclear Industry Association, said: 'It is absolutely symptomatic of how planning processes for significant infrastructure projects can disappear down a cwningar – the Welsh for a rabbit warren.' Linda Rogers of the campaign group People Against Wylfa B said Hitachi withdrew 'because the government wasn't able to provide adequate funding as far as they were concerned'. She added: '[The plans] broke environmental regulations – which this present government is laughing at, at a time when we need to increase biodiversity – and affected very much the local wildlife, particularly terns. And it was bad for the Welsh language. There were a lot of issues why it was not appropriate to build at Wylfa.'
Yahoo
07-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Nuclear power plant shelved after concerns for Welsh language
A nuclear power plant was shelved after planners raised concerns that it would 'adversely affect Welsh language and culture'. Hitachi, a Japanese company, abandoned plans to build a new £20 billion power station in Anglesey, North Wales, in 2020 after failing to reach a funding agreement with UK ministers. It has emerged that the Government was previously urged to reject the plans by planning inspectors over concerns the influx of workers would dilute the Welsh language. The disclosure comes as Sir Keir Starmer promised to overrule the 'blockers' and cut red tape to allow more nuclear power plants to be built in Britain. A nuclear power station has not been constructed in the UK since 1995, and under current rules, the plants can only be built in eight designated areas of England and Wales. A 2019 report by the Planning Inspectorate revealed that a Welsh Language Impact Assessment (WLIA) had to be undertaken as part of the planning process. It said that the 7,500 workers who could come to Anglesey for the construction of Wylfa Newydd 'could have a major adverse effect on the balance of Welsh and non-Welsh speakers in the [area] and could adversely affect the use and prominence of the Welsh language within Communities'. The report also raised concerns about the pressures on 'a limited supply of housing', which could not only increase rents but 'could adversely affect Welsh language and culture'. While it added that it recognised 'a number of benefits with regards to language and culture', it said: 'All parties also agree that the main adverse effect could relate to the influx of a large non-Welsh speaking workforce during the construction period'. The inspectors concluded that 'matters weighing against the proposed development outweigh the matters weighing in favour of it' and even with mitigations the project could 'adversely affect tourism, the local economy, health and wellbeing and Welsh language and culture'. Up to 6,000 jobs were expected to be created in the local area during the building of the site, and a further 1,200 long-term jobs would be available once the site was operational. Tom Greatrex, chief executive of the Nuclear Industry Association, said that the report 'is absolutely symptomatic of how planning processes for significant infrastructure projects can disappear down a cwningar – the Welsh for a rabbit warren.' Inspectors also raised concerns about the impact of the power station on the Arctic tern and Sandwich tern, warning that the birds could 'abandon the site' leading to a negative impact on 'breeding success'. Wylfa is still considered to be one of the preferred sites for a new nuclear power station, with the previous Government in March saying it wanted to buy the site from Hitachi for £160 million. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
The Guardian
07-02-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Planners recommended against nuclear plant in 2019 over Welsh language and cultural concerns
Planning inspectors recommended against a Hitachi-built nuclear power plant in Anglesey on the basis that it could dilute the island's Welsh language and culture, it has emerged. Hitachi scrapped plans to build a £20bn nuclear power plant at Wylfa in 2020 over cost concerns after failing to reach a funding agreement with UK ministers. Keir Starmer's government has vowed to make it easier to build major infrastructure projects by reforming the planning system and stopping campaigners from launching 'excessive' legal challenges. The prime minister unveiled plans for a historic expansion in nuclear power this week, vowing to 'push past nimbyism' and make new sites across the country available for new power stations. Nuclear industry figures believe that the fate of Hitachi's proposed plant at Wylfa demonstrates the problems with the UK's planning system. Planning inspectors appointed by the UK government recommended that the project be rejected in 2019, warning of its impact on biodiversity, the local economy, housing stock and the Welsh language. The inspectors' 906-page report said the additional workers required by the project would put pressure on local housing and schools and that 'given the number of Welsh speaking residents, this could adversely affect Welsh language and culture'. Hitachi carried out a Welsh language impact assessment as part of its application, which found that the project would need to bring 7,500 workers from outside the area. Anglesey has 70,000 residents and one of the highest concentrations of Welsh speakers in the country. The impact assessment concluded the extra workers 'could have a major adverse effect on the balance of Welsh and non-Welsh speakers' in the area and 'could adversely affect the use and prominence of the Welsh language within communities'. However, the assessment also found that by creating high-skilled jobs for young people, the project would also help preserve the Welsh language on the island. It would have created more than 2,000 local construction jobs for nine years, and around 85% of the plant's workforce would be local under the plans. However, the inspectors' report concluded that 'the matters weighing against the proposed development outweigh the matters weighing in favour of it' and that despite planned mitigations the project could 'adversely affect tourism, the local economy, health and wellbeing and Welsh language and culture'. It also found that the developers had not put forward enough evidence to demonstrate that the Arctic and Sandwich tern populations around the Cemlyn Bay area, where the plant was going to be built, would not be disturbed by construction. There were fears that the birds would abandon the area as a result. Dan Tomlinson, the Labour MP for Chipping Barnet and the government's growth mission champion, said: 'It's no wonder we've gone from a world pioneer in new nuclear to lagging at the back. Now we've got a government that's willing to back the builders not the blockers, we can stop the delays so the UK can be at the forefront of new nuclear with more jobs and cheaper bills.' Tom Greatrex, chief executive of the Nuclear Industry Association, said: 'It is absolutely symptomatic of how planning processes for significant infrastructure projects can disappear down a cwningar – the Welsh for a rabbit warren.' The last Conservative government revived plans for a large-scale nuclear power station at Wylfa and bought the site from Hitachi for £160m. In its election manifesto, Labour pledged to 'explore the opportunities for new nuclear at Wylfa'.
