More local authorities need to follow the lead of Gwynedd Council and introduce Welsh as their main administrative language, as part of the government’s aim of a million Welsh speakers by 2050.

That’s the view of the Welsh language commissioner who has praised Gwynedd’s efforts in maintaining a bilingual presence with dealing with the public, but using only Welsh in most circumstances on an internal basis.

However, Aled Roberts, a former AM who was appointed to the post last year, described the strength of the language in Gwynedd as a “mixed picture”, acknowledging the need to ensure Welsh was spoken by more people on a day-to-day basis.

According to the last census, 72.91 per cent of the county’s residents had at least some Welsh skills.

“What you have done as a council, in terms of your internal administration, is encouraging and there’s room for us to spread such good practices across Wales,” he said.

“I want to praise you for what you do and there is also room to adopt your education policies elsewhere, but I do feel there’s a need for an honest discussion across Wales in regards to current weaknesses too.”

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