$Unique_ID{bob00497} $Pretitle{} $Title{United Kingdom Introduction} $Subtitle{} $Author{Embassy of the United Kingdom, Washington DC} $Affiliation{Embassy of the United Kingdom, Washington DC} $Subject{wales welsh per cent language areas britain development government industries see pictures see figures see tables } $Date{1990} $Log{See Princess Diana*0049701.scf See Prince Charles*0049702.scf See Table 1.*0049701.tab } Title: United Kingdom Book: Wales Author: Embassy of the United Kingdom, Washington DC Affiliation: Embassy of the United Kingdom, Washington DC Date: 1990 Introduction [See Princess Diana: Courtesy Embassy of the United Kingdom, New York.] [See Prince Charles: Courtesy Embassy of the United Kingdom, New York.] Wales and England have been politically united for nearly 450 years and the two countries share systems of law, land tenure and local government. However, the Principality has a history, language and culture of its own, as well as a distinctive physical, human and economic geography. Within the British system of government special arrangements exist for the administration of Welsh affairs, notably through the office of the Secretary of State for Wales. The Welsh language is used widely in everyday speech in certain parts of the country, and also in education, the media, administration, and literary and musical culture. The Welsh name for Wales is Cymru. In recent years Wales has been experiencing a revival of its economy, with a considerable expansion in high technology and service industries, and the country has been particularly successful in attracting inward investment from overseas. The modernisation of industry is being reflected in social and environmental improvements to areas left derelict by the traditional heavy industries. The many areas of natural beauty of Wales and its distinctive cultural heritage have led to a development of leisure facilities and an increase in tourism. The People and the Country The total population of Wales in 1988 (mid-year estimate) was 2,857,000, about 5 per cent of the total British population, and its land area of 20,768 sq km (8,018 sq miles) represents 8.5 per cent of the area of Britain. The average density of population is 138 people per sq km (356 per sq mile) compared with an average for Britain as a whole of 234 (605). The main areas of settlement are in the counties of Mid, South and West Glamorgan and Gwent, where just over 60 per cent of the population live (see map). The chief urban centres are the capital, Cardiff (with a population of 284,000), Swansea (170,000) and Newport (120,000). There are indications that outward migration from the rural areas of Wales, common in the 1960s and early 1970s, has been reversed, with inward migration from other parts of Britain now occurring. In the period from 1976 to 1981 Wales experienced a net gain from migration of nearly 19,000 people, with a further net gain of 30,300 in the subsequent period to 1988. Wales is essentially an upland country, about a quarter being more than 300 m (984 ft) above sea level. Extensive tracts of high plateau and shorter stretches of mountain ranges are deeply dissected by a series of river valleys which typically radiate from the centre of the upland area. The lower-lying ground is largely confined to the relatively narrow coastal belt and the floors or lower slopes of the river valleys. The longest rivers are the Dee, Severn and Wye, which fall to the lowlands of the English border. Intrusive rocks of the lower palaeozoic period are responsible for much of the spectacular scenery of Snowdonia, (containing the peaks of Snowdon itself, which is 1,085 m (3,560 ft) high, Cader Idris, the Arans and the other mountain ranges of north-west Wales). Newer rocks adjoin the older rocks in both north and south Wales. These include the upper carboniferous beds which formed the South Wales coal basin and the smaller coalfields of north-east Wales. The largest natural lake is Bala Lake (10.4 sq km - 4 sq miles). History In prehistoric times Wales, like the rest of Britain, was populated by a succession of immigrants and invaders from mainland Europe. Celtic Iron Age immigrants established the first culture that is thought of as distinctively Welsh. The Celts dominated large areas of Europe by 500 BC, including Britain, and aspects of their heritage - their language, legends, bardic poetry and ornamental metalware - have remained important in varying degrees in Wales, Ireland, Scotland, and Isle of Man, the English county of Cornwall and Brittany in north-West France. For the Welsh, awareness of their history has been particularly strongly associated with their Celtic origins. In the first to eleventh centuries AD, Romans, Saxons, Vikings and Normans successively invaded Britain, although most of the impact of ethnic and cultural changes was felt in England. Wales remained a Celtic stronghold - often, however, within the English sphere of influence. Conflict was frequent within Wales between the various princes, and unity was achieved only temporarily, either when a strong prince took control or when the princes united to defend themselves against attackers from England. With the death of Prince Llywelyn in 1282, Edward I of England launched a successful campaign to bring Wales under English rule. Wales was placed under the same laws as England, for the most part, and Edward's son, later Edward II, was born in north Wales and was created Prince of Wales at Caernarfon in 1301. This title has, with only a few exceptions, been accorded to the eldest son of the sovereign ever since. Although Edward's measures meant that Wales ceased to have any separate political existence, they did not put an end to Welsh unrest. At the beginning of the fifteenth century a revolt headed by Owain Glynd;wr (Owen Glendower) became a national uprising, and Glynd;wr was virtually ruler of Wales between 1400 and 1410. In the event he was unable to inflict a conclusive defeat on the English, and his rule and power gradually declined. Towards the end of the century, when the English throne passed to the Tudors, who were descended from the seventh-century Welsh prince, Cadwaladr, the way was paved for full union between the two countries. The Acts of Union of 1536 and 1542 united England and Wales administratively, politically and legally. The feudal lordships of the Welsh borderland were abolished and Wales was fully integrated into the English shire (county) system. Representation in Parliament was granted to the Welsh, and the English legal framework was fully adopted, English becoming the official language in court. As a result of these measures a process of anglicisation of the landed classes began; the landless labouring classes, however, retained their traditional way of life and remained largely Welsh-speaking. In the eighteenth century there were two developments that led to social change. The first was the spread of religious nonconformism (see p 5), especially Methodism, among the Welsh-speaking sections of the community, a development strongly associated with movements for popular education. The second was the industrial revolution, which gave Wales (until then a mainly pastoral economy) a new importance because of its mineral resources. In the second half of the nineteenth century attempts were made to revive Welsh culture, which led to the strengthening of the stature and influence of the eisteddfod, an annual festival of music and poetry, and Wales acquired a large measure of autonomy in its educational system. Meanwhile, the Welsh coal, iron and steel industries had become important components of the British economy, drawing much of the labour force and a large number of immigrants from England and Ireland, creating as a result the urban centres of south Wales. However, in the economic depression which followed the first world war (1914-18), and with growing competition from other European countries, the major sources of employment -agriculture, coal, steel, tinplate and slate - all began to contract, and people began to migrate out of Wales, both to England and overseas. The population declined substantially in the 1920s and 1930s. In order to revive the economy after the second world war (1939-45), the steel industry in Wales was modernised and a variety of light industries, including light engineering, chemicals, plastics and electronics plants, were attracted to the country. The recession of the 1970s and early 1980s led to a further reduction of jobs in the traditional industries, and subsequently to a rapid expansion of high-technology industries, particularly electronics, with a marked increase in inward investment in recent years (see p 9). The trend towards a decline in population has been reversed, with a small increase of 8 per cent since 1945. Successive governments have responded to pressure for stronger representation of the Welsh point of view within the British system of government. A post of Minister for Welsh Affairs was created in 1954, and in 1965 the Welsh Office was established following the creation of the office of Secretary of State for Wales (with a seat in the Cabinet) in 1964. However, in 1979, after a prolonged period of public discussion about the delegation of further powers from central government to Wales, proposals for the establishment of an elected Welsh assembly in Cardiff were rejected by a clear majority of Welsh voters in a referendum (see p 8). The Welsh sense of cultural identity remains strong, however, and as people from other parts of Britain increasingly move into Wales there is continued debate about the best means of preserving the distinctive Welsh heritage and language. The Government has taken a number of measures to support the Welsh language (see p 6). Prince Charles, the heir to the throne, was invested by the Queen with the title of Prince of Wales at a special ceremony at Caernarfon Castle in 1969 when he was 20. On his marriage in 1981, his wife took the title of Princess of Wales. Religion Christianity has been practised in Wales since the fifth and sixth centuries, when the Celtic Church was founded by native saints. The Church was later reorganised within the Western European Church, becoming part of the Anglican Church at the time of the reformation. The Bible was translated into Welsh by Bishop Morgan in 1588. Social changes in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries led to the development of a powerful nonconformist movement throughout Wales. Consisting of protestant sects which dissented from the established Anglican Church, such as Methodists, Congregationalists and Baptists, the movement exercised a strong influence on Wales - a census of religion in 1851 found that over 80 per cent of those at worship attended a nonconformist chapel. While it had puritan features, such as strict moral rectitude, Sunday observance and temperance, the movement nevertheless fostered a rich local community life, with its encouragement of choral festivals, eisteddfodau (see p 30) and popular education. In the second half of the nineteenth century the nonconformist section of the community (which by that time included much of the business and commercial class) acquired increasing influence in Parliament and pressed for the disestablishment in Wales of the Anglican church, which was finally achieved in 1920. As elsewhere in Britain, there has been a decline in religious attendance during the twentieth century, and the influence of nonconformism on social values and behaviour is much weakened. During recent years all the churches have continued to take an active role in a number of issues of importance to Welsh life, such as the Welsh language and culture, and the significance of economic and industrial changes for communities in Wales; the churches are fully involved in community work, such as housing projects, care schemes and youth work. Today there are some 210,000 members of nonconformist churches in Wales (including Methodists, Baptists, members of the Presbyterian Church of Wales, the United Reformed Church, the Salvation Army and Quakers). The Roman Catholic Church, with some 150,000 members, has experienced development, and recently formed a third diocese. Although the Anglican Church in Wales was disestablished, it remains influential, having a following of about 200,000 members, and is responsible for the care of the country's medieval churches and cathedrals. There are about 32,000 members of ethnic minority groups in Wales, predominantly in Cardiff, Newport and Swansea. Although some are members of Anglican, Catholic or nonconformist churches, a larger number are members of Pentecostal churches, and the majority are members of other faith groups, mainly Islam, Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism and Judaism. Language Welsh is one of the Celtic languages. Its emergence as a distinctive tongue (Early Welsh) is attributed to the sixth century. It has a rich and varied literature, from medieval times to the present day, and at the last census in 1981 it was spoken by nearly 19 per cent of the population, although less than 1 per cent spoke only Welsh. The proportion of the population able to speak Welsh was highest (between 47 and 63 per cent) in the rural areas of Dyfed and Gwynedd, where Welsh is still the predominant language. In the county of South Glamorgan, however, only 5.7 per cent spoke Welsh in 1981, and in Gwent only 2.5 per cent. The number of people speaking the language has greatly declined during the present century, but since the 1960s measures have been adopted, both officially and by voluntary groups, to revive its use. The Welsh Language Act 1967 granted Welsh equal validity with English in the law courts, and there are now many more bilingual publications and official forms than formerly; highway authorities are also encouraged to make most road signs bilingual. The Local Government and Housing Bill makes provision for Welsh councils to be able to use Welsh language versions of their official titles. In 1988 the Government announced the establishment of a Welsh Language Board to advise the Secretary of State on matters relating to the Welsh language. Its tasks include developing voluntary codes of practice on the use of Welsh in the public and private sectors; advising on the use of Welsh in public administration; investigating complaints; reviewing and reporting on grant-supported activity; and liaising with statutory and non-statutory bodies on language issues. The Board is working through specialist sub-committees which are initially concentrating on the promotion of the Welsh language; the use of the Welsh language by local authorities and public bodies; its use in the private sector; and proposals for legislation. The Government has announced higher grants, amounting to 4.6 million Pounds, in support of the Welsh language in 1989-90. Support for bilingual education has been reflected in the numbers of pupils learning Welsh at primary and secondary school level. Three-quarters of all primary schools now offer some Welsh in their curriculum and substantial numbers of primary school children have acquired a level of fluency in Welsh as a second language. In 1986, 13 per cent of primary school children aged five and over were considered to be fluent in Welsh as a first or second language. At the secondary level over 52 per cent of children were being taught Welsh either as a first or second language. The Government has been providing grants for projects which extend or improve the quality of education in the Welsh language since 1980, and about 2.7 million Pounds has been made available to support developments in Welsh language education in 1989-90. Under the Education Reform Act 1988 the Welsh language will have an integral place in the new national curriculum in schools in Wales (see p 26). There are opportunities for studying the Welsh language, and for studying through the medium of Welsh, in the institutions of further and higher education, including the University of Wales. In many further education colleges A-level courses in Welsh are offered, as well as an increasing range of bilingual courses in vocational subjects, while at some of the colleges of higher education all or part of some degree and higher national diploma courses, mainly with a vocational emphasis, may be taken through the medium of Welsh. Postgraduate and undergraduate courses training both primary and secondary school teachers are provided through the medium of Welsh in the university colleges and colleges of higher education in the Welsh-speaking areas (Aberystwyth, Bangor and Carmarthen). Radio and television programmes in Welsh are broadcast regularly; on the fourth television channel, Sianel 4 Cymru (S4C), established in 1982, a substantial proportion of the programmes are in Welsh (see p 30). Some local newspapers and other publications are printed wholly or partly in Welsh. Official grants have been made to the Welsh-language playgroup movement (catering for 'pre-school' children under five), to the Royal National Eisteddfod of Wales (see p 30), to Urdd Gobaith Cymru (the Welsh League of Youth) and towards the publication of books and the production of films in Welsh. The Welsh Arts Council assists with the publication of literary works in Welsh. Welsh Administration Wales returns 38 of the 650 members of the House of Commons to Parliament. There are currently 25 Labour, 7 Conservative, 3 Plaid Cymru (Welsh Nationalist) and 3 Liberal Democrat members. Special arrangements exist for the discussion of Welsh affairs in the Welsh Grand Committee, whose function is to consider matters relating exclusively to Wales and Bills referred to it at second reading stage. The committee consists of all 38 Members of Parliament sitting for Welsh constituencies, and up to five other nominated members. The Secretary of State for Wales, who is a member of the Cabinet, has substantial administrative autonomy, with full responsibility in Wales for ministerial functions relating to: health and personal social services, housing, local government, education (except universities), town and country planning, water and sewerage, roads, agriculture, forestry, tourism, national parks, ancient monuments and historic buildings (administered by Cadw: Welsh Historic Monuments - see p 24), the careers service and the activities of the Training Agency. There are also certain responsibilities relating to the National Library of Wales, the National Museum of Wales, the Wales Tourist Board and the Sports Council for Wales, and shared responsibility for the administration of urban grants to areas of social and economic deprivation. The Secretary of State for Wales has, in addition, direct ministerial responsibility for industrial policy and economic development in Wales and for the administration of selective financial assistance to Welsh industry. The Welsh Development Agency and the Development Board for Rural Wales, which are responsible to the Secretary of State, also have important industrial, environmental and (in the case of the Board) social functions (see pp 10-13). The Secretary of State's department, the Welsh Office, is based in Cardiff, with branches throughout Wales and a small ministerial office in London. In a referendum held in 1979, voters in Wales rejected by a majority of about four to one (in a 59 per cent turnout) proposals to set up in the Welsh capital, Cardiff, a directly elected assembly responsible for a wide range of domestic affairs. Local government is exercised in general through a two-tier system of elected authorities. Local government services are provided chiefly, and sometimes entirely, by eight county authorities (Clwyd; Dyfed; Mid, South and West Glamorgan; Gwent; Gwynedd; and Powys) and 37 district councils. The districts are divided into a number of smaller areas called 'communities' (about 1,000 in all) which have community councils serving as focuses for local opinion, with limited powers in matters of local interest. In April 1990 domestic rates (local taxes paid by the occupiers of land and property) are to be replaced by a community charge to be levied by each local authority and which will be payable by every resident adult. The Economy Wales is one of the fastest growing regions in Britain, and in recent decades there has been a transformation in the basis of its economy. The most notable features have been the rapid expansion in the service industries and the development of a more diverse and highly technological range of manufacturing industries. The traditional industries of coalmining and iron and steel production have been gradually contracting, while modernising and improving efficiency and productivity. Wales has been particularly successful in attracting investment by overseas companies, including electronics concerns from Japan, the United States and elsewhere in Europe, and is becoming increasingly regarded by internationally mobile industries as an attractive base in preparation for the formation of the single European market in 1992. In recent years Wales has consistently obtained over 20 per cent of overseas inward investment into Britain; projects secured from abroad and the rest of Britain in 1988 were expected to lead to 11,000 new jobs and 1,200 million Pounds of capital investment. There are over 250 foreign-owned or-associated firms in Wales employing around 55,000 people and accounting for about 25 per cent of jobs in manufacturing industry. Other significant structural changes have been an increase in the proportion of the workforce engaged in service industries, such as financial services (in which employment increased by 39 per cent between 1981 and 1988), a decline in male activity rates and an increase in female activity rates. Government measures have helped to create or sustain employment, particularly in areas - both urban and rural - with high areas of unemployment. Special attention has been given to those areas affected by the substantial number of job losses in the coal and steel industries in recent years. Outside the main industrial areas of the south and the north-east, Wales is predominantly rural (often mountainous) with agriculture, forestry and tourism as the basis of the economy. Nevertheless, growing numbers of small businesses are being set up and light industry is being successfully introduced in many towns. At the end of 1988 there were some 892,000 people in employment in Wales (excluding the self-employed), representing about 4.2 per cent of the total figure for Britain. As elsewhere in Britain, the unemployment rate has fallen substantially, and in June 1989 was 8.2 per cent of the workforce in Wales, compared with 14.1 per cent in 1986. Some of the main indicators of the Welsh economy are given in the table on p 10. Industrial Development Measures The regional industrial development policies which successive governments have undertaken to overcome the problems of high rates of unemployment in certain areas of Britain have proved successful in helping Wales make the transition from an economy based on traditional industries of coal and steel to one centred on modern high technological product and service industries. Regional industrial policy operates within a general economic framework designed to encourage enterprise and economic growth in all areas of Britain, and provides for economic help of various kinds to the 'assisted areas', which in Wales cover some 90 per cent of the population. There are two types of assisted area: 'development areas' (where the need for assistance is considered to be greater) and 'intermediate areas'. [See Table 1.: Main Economic Indicators] Regional selective assistance is available for investment projects undertaken by firms throughout the assisted areas provided they meet certain criteria, and Regional Enterprise Grants are available to firms with fewer than 25 employees in development areas to support investment and innovation. In addition, under the Enterprise Wales Initiative, launched in 1988, grants and support schemes have been introduced for small firms in all sectors which wish to take advantage of consultancy advice, for example, in marketing, design, quality, manufacturing systems, business planning and financial and information systems; a higher level of assistance is available to firms in assisted areas and Urban Programme areas (see p 11). Offers of regional selective assistance accepted by industry in Wales in 1988-89 totalled 81 million Pounds. The Welsh Office is responsible for the administration of all these forms of assistance. Welsh Development Agency The economic programmes of the Welsh Office are complemented by the work of the Welsh Development Agency, which has wide powers to promote industrial and environmental change in Wales. It manages a large estate of industrial property and provides factories for sale or letting. It offers venture capital and provides business and technological advice, particularly to small and medium-sized businesses. The Agency also seeks to improve the environment through land reclamation and urban renewal, in order to enhance the quality of life of the local people, to make Wales a more attractive location for business and to encourage inward investment from the rest of Britain and abroad. It stimulates private sector participation and investment whenever feasible and cost-effective. The Agency is supported by government and European Community funding, but increasingly generates its own income. Its expenditure has risen rapidly, from 72 million Pounds in 1986-87 to 98 million Pounds in 1987-88 and to 113 million Pounds in 1988-89. The Agency expects to spend 130 million Pounds in 1989-90, over 40 per cent of which will be funded internally, principally through factory sales and rents. In 1988, to overcome a shortage of industrial property, the Agency embarked on a three-year factory building programme, with a direct investment of 130 million Pounds in new factories, which will bring 418,000 sq m (4.5 million sq ft) of new factory space into use, potentially accommodating over 13,000 manufacturing jobs. Between 1976 and 1988 over 3,200 hectares (some 8,000 acres) of derelict land were reclaimed by the Agency, and in 1988 it increased its land reclamation programme by 40 per cent to an annual total of 25 million Pounds, enabling the rate of reclamation of derelict land to be increased to some 1,700 hectares (4,200 acres) a year. There has been considerable growth in small businesses in Wales. In 1988 there was an increase of 53 per cent in the number of new companies registered in Wales compared with 1987, contrasting with an increase for Britain as a whole of 16 per cent. Nearly 12.4 per cent of the workforce is self-employed, compared with 10.6 per cent for Britain as a whole. Welsh Development International (formerly Wales Investment Location) is the arm of the Agency which has responsibility for attracting industrial and commercial investment into Wales. Since its establishment in 1983, it has helped to attract some 350 projects involving capital investment of 2,000 million Pounds and the creation or safeguarding of nearly 50,000 jobs. Major companies from Japan, the United States and the Federal Republic of Germany are now established in Wales (see p 14), and the Principality is attracting about one-fifth of all annual inward investment into Britain. Firms from other parts of Britain have also transferred operations to the Principality. For example, the Trustee Savings Bank Trust Company has transferred its insurance services division to Newport, providing 2,000 jobs, and the Patent Office has also moved to Newport recently, creating 600 jobs. Another branch of the agency is Wintech (Wales Innovation and Technology), which encourages businesses in Wales to profit from new technology and acts as a link between industry and universities (see p 27). It gives support for preliminary technology and market feasibility studies and provides technology reviews for small firms wishing to identify business opportunities through the application of technology. Wintech has developed collaborative links between companies in Wales and overseas to provide access to new business opportunities. It has set up the Wales Technology Centre, one of a network of regional technology centres being established in Britain, to develop training expertise in higher education to meet industry's needs. In 1988 it opened a manufacturing technology centre in Cleppa Park in Newport, to act as a focus for promoting the use of new technology.