Neath Port Talbot Council’s Cabinet members have heard of good progress being made in promoting the use of Welsh across the county borough.
This comes just weeks after Margam Country Park played host to the hugely successful Eisteddfod yr Urdd Dur a Môr, which saw a record-breaking number of registrations to compete.
Both the Welsh Language Standards Annual Report and the Welsh Language Promotion Strategy Annual Report for 2024-2025 were presented to Cabinet on 16th July. The reports detail how the council has complied with the Standards, and the activities and initiatives that took place during the year to promote the Welsh language and facilitate its use in the area.
Cllr Simon Knoyle, Neath Port Talbot Council’s Cabinet Member for Finance, Performance and Social Justice, said:
“This council remains committed to promoting the Welsh language as a living, vibrant part of everyday life. I hope the reports demonstrate that our approach to implementing the Welsh language Standards and delivering on our Welsh Language Promotion Strategy is not just a legal requirement, but a genuine commitment.
“These reports highlight some significant progress during a busy and exciting year when we were preparing to welcome the Urdd Eisteddfod in May 2025. The Urdd was a huge success, and we anticipate that one if its legacies will be a significant boost for the Welsh language in our area. We look forward to continuing to work with our partners to make the most of this.”
Cabinet members were given annual updates on notable areas of progress during 2024/2025 which included:
- The launch of the council’s new online, fully bilingual resident account platform, myNPT;
- The production and launch of 6 promotional videos to support the Welsh in Education Strategic Plan. These promote the benefits of bilingualism and all aspects of Welsh-medium education for non-Welsh speaking parents.
- A decrease of 18 seconds in the average time taken to answer Welsh language telephone calls to the council compared to 2023-24.
- Support for national campaigns ‘Diwrnod Shwmae Su’mae’ and ‘Defnyddia dy Gymraeg’ to promote the Welsh language;
- Promotion of the “Welsh Language in NPT” eLearning course to council employees, as a result, 2,859 had completed the course by 31st March 2025, an increase of 1,179 since the end of the previous year.
- Strengthening of the Welsh Language Standards content of the council’s corporate induction training session for new employees which moved to a fully bilingual slide deck and expanding the Welsh Language content.
