Church wants Welsh to legislate on own language

Matters concerning the Welsh language should be dealt with in Cardiff Bay, says the Presbyterian Church of Wales.

The Church has voiced its support for the proposed Legislative Competency Order (LCO) which will transfer the right to legislate on the language from Westminster to the Welsh Assembly Government.

In a statement to the consultation on the LCO, however, the Church’s Church and Society Department stresses that obtaining the LCO should be the priority at the moment and that focus on its use should be reserved until it has received Wesminster’s seal of approval.

The Rev Glyn Tudwal Jones, Clerk of the Church and Society Department, said laws concerning the Welsh language should be made in Wales.

He voiced concern that the amount of detail included in the consultation could "complicate the process of actually getting the LCO and distract attention from this basic principle".

“Having said that, we support the idea of making some bodies to provide an equal service in both Welsh and English and we also back the intention of appointing a Language Commissioner and giving the Welsh language official status,” he said.

The Church's General Secretary, the Rev Ifan Roberts, encouraged Welsh speakers to take every opportunity to speak the language.

“The Presbyterian Church of Wales is run on a wholly bilingual basis," he said. "Our members, who belong to either Welsh or English-speaking churches, receive information and resources in the language of their choice.

"If a relatively small charity like us can provide a full bilingual service in a simple and cost-effecitve manner, then I believe that large organisations which provide a public service should be able to do so too.

“But we Welsh speakers must make use of the services presently provided in Welsh and speak Welsh whenever possible.”