{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/government-of-wales-act-2006/section-78",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/government-of-wales-act-2006/section-78.json",
  "legislation": "ukpga/2006/32",
  "legislation_title": "Government of Wales Act 2006",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/government-of-wales-act-2006",
  "path": "section/78",
  "kind": "section",
  "number": "78",
  "heading": "The Welsh language",
  "text": "(1) The Welsh Ministers must adopt a strategy to be known as “the Welsh language strategy” or “strategaeth y Gymraeg” setting out how they propose to promote and facilitate the use of the Welsh language.\n(1A) See Part 1 of the Welsh Language and Education (Wales) Act 2025 (asc 2) (referred to in Welsh as Deddf y Gymraeg ac Addysg (Cymru) 2025 (dsc 2)) for further requirements relating to the Welsh language strategy.\n(2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .\n(3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .\n(4) The Welsh Ministers—\n(a) must keep under review ... the Welsh language strategy ..., and\n(b) may from time to time adopt a new strategy or revise it.\n(5) Before adopting or revising a strategy ..., the Welsh Ministers must consult the Welsh Language Commissioner and such other persons as they consider appropriate.\n(6) The Welsh Ministers must publish the Welsh language strategy ... when they first adopt it and—\n(a) if they adopt a new strategy ... they must publish it, and\n(b) if they revise the Welsh language strategy ... (rather than adopting a new strategy ...) they must publish either the revisions or the strategy or scheme as revised (as they consider appropriate).\n(7) If the Welsh Ministers publish a strategy ..., or revisions, under subsection (6) they must lay a copy of the strategy or scheme, or revisions, before the Senedd.\n(8) After each financial year the Welsh Ministers must publish a report of how the proposals set out in the Welsh language strategy were implemented in that financial year and how effective their implementation has been in promoting and facilitating the use of the Welsh language and must lay a copy of the report before the Senedd.\n(9) For each financial year, the Welsh Ministers must publish a plan setting out how they will implement the proposals set out in the Welsh language strategy during that year.\n(10) The plan must be published as soon as reasonably practicable before the commencement of the financial year to which it relates.\n(11) In subsection (5), the reference to the “Welsh Language Commissioner means the commissioner appointed under section 2 of the Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011 (nawm 1) (referred to in Welsh as Mesur y Gymraeg (Cymru) 2011 (mccc 1)).",
  "extent": "E+W+S+N.I.",
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F1",
      "text": "Words in s. 78(1) substituted (7.9.2025) by Welsh Language and Education (Wales) Act 2025 (asc 2), ss. 1(5)(a), 56(2)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F2",
      "text": "S. 78(1A) inserted (7.9.2025) by Welsh Language and Education (Wales) Act 2025 (asc 2), ss. 1(5)(b), 56(2)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F3",
      "text": "S. 78(2)(3) omitted (31.3.2016) by virtue of The Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011 (Consequential Provisions) Order 2016 (S.I. 2016/409), arts. 1(2), 2(a)(i)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F4",
      "text": "Words in s. 78(4)(a) omitted (31.3.2016) by virtue of The Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011 (Consequential Provisions) Order 2016 (S.I. 2016/409), arts. 1(2), 2(a)(ii)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F5",
      "text": "Words in s. 78(4)(b) substituted (31.3.2016) by The Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011 (Consequential Provisions) Order 2016 (S.I. 2016/409), arts. 1(2), 2(a)(iii)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F6",
      "text": "Words in s. 78(5) omitted (31.3.2016) by virtue of The Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011 (Consequential Provisions) Order 2016 (S.I. 2016/409), arts. 1(2), 2(a)(iv)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F7",
      "text": "Words in s. 78(5) substituted (7.9.2025) by Welsh Language and Education (Wales) Act 2025 (asc 2), ss. 1(5)(c), 56(2)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F8",
      "text": "Words in s. 78(6) omitted (31.3.2016) by virtue of The Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011 (Consequential Provisions) Order 2016 (S.I. 2016/409), arts. 1(2), 2(a)(v)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F9",
      "text": "Words in s. 78(6) omitted (31.3.2016) by virtue of The Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011 (Consequential Provisions) Order 2016 (S.I. 2016/409), arts. 1(2), 2(a)(iv)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F10",
      "text": "Words in s. 78(6)(b) omitted (31.3.2016) by virtue of The Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011 (Consequential Provisions) Order 2016 (S.I. 2016/409), arts. 1(2), 2(a)(vi)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F11",
      "text": "Words in s. 78(7) omitted (31.3.2016) by virtue of The Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011 (Consequential Provisions) Order 2016 (S.I. 2016/409), arts. 1(2), 2(a)(iv)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F12",
      "text": "Words in Act substituted (6.5.2020) by Senedd and Elections (Wales) Act 2020 (anaw 1), s. 42(2), Sch. 1 para. 2(19) (with Sch. 1 para. 2(11)-(14))"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F13",
      "text": "S. 78(8) substituted (31.3.2016) by The Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011 (Consequential Provisions) Order 2016 (S.I. 2016/409), arts. 1(2), 2(a)(vii)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F14",
      "text": "S. 78(9)(10) inserted (5.2.2012) by Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011 (nawm 1), ss. 148(2), 156(2); S.I. 2012/223, art. 2(a)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F15",
      "text": "S. 78(11) inserted (7.9.2025) by Welsh Language and Education (Wales) Act 2025 (asc 2), ss. 1(5)(d), 56(2)"
    },
    {
      "type": "I",
      "label": "I1",
      "text": "Ss. 1-94, 97-106 in force immediately after \"the 2007 election\" by s. 161(1) (subject to s. 161(4)(5))"
    }
  ],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/32/section/78",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-29T09:14:12.769607+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}