Alun Pugh, Minister for Culture Welsh language and Sport has made a number of appointments and re-appointments to the Welsh Language Board.
- Meri Huws has been re-appointed as Chair of the Welsh Language Board.
- Six new members have been appointed - Nick Bennett, Huw Jones, G Owen Evans, Elin Wyn, Catherine Rees, Gwyneth Jones.
- The Minister has also re-appointed Marc Phillips, Arun Midha, Colin Williams and Rhiannon Walters.
Minister for Culture, Welsh Language and Sport Alun Pugh said:
“The state of the Welsh Language is healthier today than it has been for a very long time. The 2001 census not only showed an increase in the number of people speaking Welsh, it also showed a substantial rise in the numbers of children who are able to speak Welsh.”
“The Welsh Language Board has made a valuable contribution to the promotion of the Welsh language and is recognised as being in the forefront in Europe and beyond in the field of Welsh language planning.”
Meri Huws, Chair of the Welsh Language Board said:
"We're very pleased to be able to extend a warm welcome to the 6 new members of the Welsh Language Board. They bring a very wide range of experience, knowledge and expertise that will be extremely beneficial in continuing the Board’s work in the near future. This is a collection of enthusiastic people with experience of promoting Welsh in a range of important fields, which will help to drive forward the work of the Board in new and interesting directions."
All the appointments and re-appointments will run until the Board is merged with the Welsh Assembly Government. The maximum term possible for public appointments is 3 years.
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For more information contact
Lowri Jones, Welsh Assembly Government Press office, 029 2089 8557
Luned Jones, Welsh language Board, 029 20878018
.
The Welsh Language Board
The Welsh Language Board was established by the Welsh Language Act in 1993. The Board is responsible for promoting and facilitating the use of the Welsh language and to ensure that public bodies treat the Welsh and English on the basis or equality.
The Board promotes the Welsh language in the private and voluntary sector. It also supports a number of community based projects aimed at increasing the use of the Welsh language.
The Minister for Culture, Welsh Language and Sport appoints members to the Welsh Language Board.
The Appointments Process and Declared Political Affiliations
These appointments have been made in accordance with the OCPA Code of Practice.
All appointments are made on merit and political activity plays no part in the selection process. However, in accordance with the original Nolan recommendations, there is a requirement for the political activity during the last 5 years to of appointees to be published.
Nick Bennet was a Liberal Democrat candidate in the elections to the National Assembly for Wales in 2003 and has also been a spokesperson for the Liberal Democrats.
Marc Phillips is a member of Plaid Cymru and has occasionally canvassed for the party.
Meri Huws is a member of the Labour Party
None of the other members declared any political activity.
Pay for Chair and Members
Chair - £32,569 a year
Members - £6,752 a year
New Members
Nick Bennett is currently the Chief Executive of Community Housing Cymru. He is a Member of Ofcom’s Advisory Committee for Wales.
Catherine Rees is the Director of Resources for Menter a Busnes. Originally from Llanelli she continues to live and work in the area.
Owen Evans is originally from Aberystwyth. He is Head of Policy and Communications, BT Wales.
Huw Jones was Chief Executive of S4C between 1994 and 2005. Originally from Cardiff he lived and worked for a number of years in north-west Wales before taking up his post with S4C.
Gwyneth Morus Jones lives in Llandegfan, Anglesey. She has served as the National President of Merched y Wawr and Chair of Mudiad Ysgolion Meithrin
Elin Wyn is originally from Cardiff and continues to live and work in the city. She was a journalist with BBC Wales and Head of the BBC’s office in the Assembly. She has established a training company to provide journalistic and media training in Welsh and English.
Re-appointments
Meri Huws is the current Chair of the Welsh Language Board and Deputy Vice Chancellor of Bangor University.
Marc Phillips is the National Co-ordinator for BBC Children in Need in Wales.
Arun Midha was brought up in the Gower and learnt Welsh as an adult. He is Director of Business and Planning in the Post-graduate School of Medical and Dental Education at the University of Wales, College of Medicine.
Rhiannon Walters teaches Welsh as a second language to primary school children in Carmarthenshire, and also teaches Welsh to adults. She has served as Chair of Mudiad Ysgolion Meithrin and is currently Vice Chair of Menter Bro Dinefwr.
Colin Williams is Research Professor in Soco-linguistics at the Department of Welsh, Cardiff University. He is an authority on language planning and has advised governments in Europe and Canada on minority language development.