P-04-541 Support for the Mentrau Iaith - Correspondence – Petitioner to the Committee, 22.04.2014

P-04-541Support for the Mentrau Iaith

Dear Members of the Petitions Committee,

We are pleased to understand that you will be considering the Support for the Mentrau Iaith (Language Initiatives) petition at your next meeting on 29 April 2014. We sincerely hope that you will be able to proceed further with the petition following this meeting.

Mentrau Iaith are community-based  organisations that operate for the benefit of the Welsh language in their local areas, and they provide a wide range of Welsh medium activities and projects for people of all ages and from all backgrounds within Welsh communities. A report by  Cardiff University, commissioned by the Welsh Government, states that this work should continue and develop. The report also notes that the Mentrau Iaith do not receive adequate core funding to allow them to operate to their full potential. You can read the report here:

http://wales.gov.uk/docs/dcells/publications/130130-adroddiad-y-mentrau-cy.pdf

Dyfodol i'r Iaith (A future for the language) decided to submit the petition to support the Mentrau following the review of their work in order to call on the Assembly to ask the Welsh Government to increase its support for the Mentrau, and to respond in a prompt and positive manner following this survey.

I was therefore very pleased to hear the First Minister stating his support for the Mentrau Iaith in several statements recently, and within the Assembly, stating that he considers them to be “powerful and valuable tools”, and that he would like to “ensure that their work will continue in the future”. We now believe it is time for the First Minister and the Government to act to make a real difference to the future of the Mentrau and the Welsh language by investing in them.

I would be happy to discuss this further with you, and I would be more than willing to attend one of your meetings in the near future to discuss how you as a Committee can help us to support the Mentrau Iaith for the benefit of the Welsh language in Wales.

Best wishes,

Heini Gruffudd