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Wales Online
19-06-2025
- Politics
- Wales Online
England's only Welsh language school 'could close' as Welsh Government withdraws £90k funding
England's only Welsh language school 'could close' as Welsh Government withdraws £90k funding Ysgol Gymraeg Llundain, in Ealing in London is the only Welsh language school outside of Wales Pupils at Ysgol Gymraeg Llundain/London Welsh School in 2023 (Image: London Welsh School ) The future of a Welsh language school in London is said to be in doubt if the Welsh Government withdraws its funding. Ysgol Gymraeg Llundain, in Ealing in London, has been teaching children in the capital to become bilingual in both Welsh and English for seven decades. However, the school fears it will lose a £90,000 Welsh Government grant. The school had been receiving funding via the Cymraeg 2050 strategy, a Welsh Government strategy to achieve one million Welsh speakers by 2050. The school has reportedly received this grant for many years, but has now been told it will be withdrawn by March next year. For our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing the nation, sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here The Welsh Conservatives say the school's funding was never intended for formal education. Losing it will mean closure, it is claimed. A source close to Ysgol Gymraeg Llundain said: "The decision to cut funding is abrupt and unjust. Not only have we been given less than a year's notice, but the funding is being withdrawn part-way through an academic year — an approach that is both unreasonable and deeply disruptive. "It leaves teachers in a position of anxious job uncertainty and families with no viable school alternatives. Article continues below "The closure of the school would mean losing a unique educational setting, a deeply rooted community, and a proven model of cultural and linguistic transmission. "The school is already doing everything the Cymraeg 2050 strategy sets out to achieve: creating fluent speakers, embedding Welsh in daily life, and building an intergenerational community around the language. "Re-directing funding elsewhere would not only dismantle this success, but require years of investment to even begin replicating it — with no guarantee of the same results." Conservative shadow Welsh secretary Mims Davies said: "This is yet another example of these two Labour governments working in tandem to fail Wales. "It is appalling Labour is continuing to shoot down opportunities both in Wales and beyond with their policies on independent schools and now withdrawing this funding. "For the sake of all of our young people, I urge these governments to wake up and stop failing our youngsters." The issue was brought up in the Senedd by independent MS Rhys ab Owen. He said: "The grant of £90,000 to Ysgol Gymraeg Llundain, the London Welsh School, will come to an end in March of next year, in the middle of the school's academic year. "The school is clear: without that £90,000, the school will close, and thereby bring to an end 70 years of Welsh education in London. "The school has ensured generation after generation of Welsh speakers. For such a small figure £90,000, the implications are huge for the school—teachers will lose their jobs, children will have to leave the school in the middle of an academic year, and the impact will be huge on the broader London community. "It would be a great shame if the school had to close because the Welsh Government wasn't providing £90,000 to them." The school, originally founded in 1958 by a group of parents who sent their children to Welsh lessons in London, began with 30 pupils. In 2015 it moved from Wembley to Ealing and has started new initiatives to bring in income and pupils, including a mother and toddler group, a before and after school club and hiring out hot desks to parents to work from inside the building. Article continues below In 2023, the school said it had seen its number fall as families returned to Wales post-pandemic. You can read about that here. The Welsh Government has been asked for comment.
Pembrokeshire Herald
24-05-2025
- Business
- Pembrokeshire Herald
Senedd hears that Welsh Water customers get ‘a raw deal'
WELSH WATER customers are getting a raw deal, with bills increasing while 'disgraceful' pollution continues and executives pocket 'scandalous' payments, the Senedd heard. Rhys ab Owen expressed concerns about Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water being issued a £1.3m fine for failing to monitor water quality at 300 different sites and committing 800 offences. 'This is on top of the sewage that was discharged last year, over 118,000 times,' he said. 'That is a sewage spill every five minutes – the highest… of any UK water company.' Mr ab Owen told the Senedd: 'Constituents find it very difficult to believe – it sticks in the back of the throat – that executives are paid eye-watering sums, that there are discussions for them to be paid even higher salaries. 'And this at the same time that Dŵr Cymru is increasing household bills by 27 per cent this year, an average of £86 per household. Costs for householders are increasing yet scrutiny seems to be decreasing due to lack of funding and investment by the Welsh Government.' Huw Irranca-Davies said Welsh Water will invest £6bn between 2025 and 2030, including £1.2bn to deliver environmental improvements and tackle nutrient pollution. The deputy first minister said: 'I've been consistently clear – both with the water companies and indeed the regulator, Ofwat – that customers in Wales expect to see real, tangible improvements.' He said Welsh Water acknowledged its failings following the court case – committing to reducing the ecological harm from storm overflows by 90 per cent, and 100 per cent by 2032. Mr Irranca-Davies, whose responsibilities include water, told Senedd members he will shortly be meeting Jane Hanson, who was appointed Welsh Water's chair in January. Janet Finch-Saunders, the Conservatives' shadow climate secretary, said: 'I just can't believe that we're still discussing this. Whilst we're talking about it, there's probably dozens of pollution incidents taking place right now.' She described chief executive Peter Perry receiving total remuneration of £892,000 as scandalous, with a bonus of £91,000 paid in 2024. Addressing the deputy first minister during topical questions on May 21, she said: 'I do think you need to be far more robust in your meeting with the chair….'
