'Basic' Welsh language skills required for assembly staff
New staff working for the National Assembly will need at least basic Welsh language skills from summer 2018.
Candidates will be expected to demonstrate they can show "basic linguistic courtesy" or commit to gain those skills during their induction, according to the Assembly Commission, which runs the institution.
Plaid Cymru AM Adam Price, commissioner responsible for the assembly's official languages, said it would include common Welsh phrases and the ability "to understand basic texts such as simple e-mails".
But party colleague Bethan Jenkins, who chairs the assembly's culture committee, was concerned the change could hamper attempts to recruit staff from ethnic minorities and other groups.
The Welsh Government, which employs more than 5,000 people, said the Welsh language was not required for all of its posts.
