Multimedia Mania/abacus-multimedia-mania.iso/dp/0049/00497.txt

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$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.