The favoured candidate for the Welsh Language Commissioner role has said that her main concern is to increase the use of the language. At a pre-appointment hearing before the Senedd Culture Committee on Thursday Efa Gruffudd Jones shared her aims if she were appointed as commissioner.
During the hearing she said that the census of 2021 would "drive some of those priorities". The census in 2011 showed that there had been a decrease in Welsh-language speakers with the number dropping from 582,000 in 2001 to 562,000 despite the population increasing in Wales.
Ms Jones suggested that more attention was needed to promote the use of the language as well as the development of language standards and regulation. "I truly feel that it is a privilege and a responsibility to be in this position today," she said.
