83-490: Neath Port Talbot ( Welsh : Castell-nedd Port Talbot ) is a county borough in the south-west of Wales . Its principal towns are Neath , Port Talbot , Briton Ferry and Pontardawe . The county borough borders Bridgend County Borough and Rhondda Cynon Taf to the east, Powys and Carmarthenshire to the north; and Swansea to the west. Neath Port Talbot is the eighth-most populous local authority area in Wales and
166-441: A Welsh Language Scheme, which indicates its commitment to the equality of treatment principle. This is sent out in draft form for public consultation for a three-month period, whereupon comments on it may be incorporated into a final version. It requires the final approval of the now defunct Welsh Language Board ( Bwrdd yr Iaith Gymraeg ). Thereafter, the public body is charged with implementing and fulfilling its obligations under
249-594: A Welsh-language edge inscription was used on pound coins dated 1985, 1990 and 1995, which circulated in all parts of the UK prior to their 2017 withdrawal. The wording is Pleidiol wyf i'm gwlad (Welsh for 'True am I to my country'), and derives from the national anthem of Wales, " Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau ". UK banknotes are in English only. Some shops employ bilingual signage. Welsh sometimes appears on product packaging or instructions. The UK government has ratified
332-862: A campus located at Baglan Energy Park in Port Talbot. The Baglan campus houses a Renewable Hydrogen Research and Development Centre. A separate daily edition of the South Wales Evening Post is published for the Neath Port Talbot area. The paper's publisher, Reach plc , also produces a free weekly paper, the Neath Port Talbot Courier , which is inserted in Thursday's edition of the South Wales Evening Post. The local council publishes
415-663: A census glossary of terms to support the release of results from the census, including their definition of "main language" as referring to "first or preferred language" (though that wording was not in the census questionnaire itself). The wards in England with the most people giving Welsh as their main language were the Liverpool wards of Central and Greenbank ; and Oswestry South in Shropshire . The wards of Oswestry South (1.15%), Oswestry East (0.86%) and St Oswald (0.71%) had
498-405: A fair amount. 56 per cent of Welsh speakers speak the language daily, and 19 per cent speak the language weekly. The Welsh Government plans to increase the number of Welsh-language speakers to one million by 2050. Since 1980, the number of children attending Welsh-medium schools has increased, while the number going to Welsh bilingual and dual-medium schools has decreased. Welsh is considered
581-470: A modern integrated steelworks on a site then owned by Guest, Keen and Baldwins . However, political manoeuvring led to tinplate production being retained in its original heartland further west, at two new works in Trostre and Felindre . The steelworks were built upon 32,000 piles into sand and peat. Opened in 1951, it was fully operational by 1953. Once the new No.4 and 5 furnaces began production,
664-399: A new language altogether. The argued dates for the period of "Primitive Welsh" are widely debated, with some historians' suggestions differing by hundreds of years. The next main period is Old Welsh ( Hen Gymraeg , 9th to 11th centuries); poetry from both Wales and Scotland has been preserved in this form of the language. As Germanic and Gaelic colonisation of Britain proceeded,
747-825: A quarterly, Community Spirit , produced and funded in conjunction with seven other public sector partners. Community radio station is XS broadcasts to both Neath (97.4) and Port Talbot (107.9). Nation Radio Wales briefly broadcast to the wider South Wales region from studios in Neath, but is now based in Cardiff. The county borough is within the local commercial radio licence areas of Hits Radio South Wales , its sister station Greatest Hits Radio South Wales , Swansea Bay Radio and Heart South Wales . Neath Port Talbot used to be twinned with: In 2015, Neath Port Talbot terminated all its twin city relationships for financial reasons. The following people and military units have received
830-479: A single discourse (known in linguistics as code-switching ). Welsh speakers are largely concentrated in the north and west of Wales, principally Gwynedd , Conwy County Borough , Denbighshire , Anglesey , Carmarthenshire , north Pembrokeshire , Ceredigion , parts of Glamorgan , and north-west and extreme south-west Powys . However, first-language and other fluent speakers can be found throughout Wales. Welsh-speaking communities persisted well into
913-481: A sustainable, long-term future for steel making in the UK". In September 2023 the UK Government agreed to pay Tata a £500 million subsidy in order for it to invest in an electric arc furnace . This was in a bid to cut emissions resulting from the carbon-intensity of the current blast furnaces. Trade unions worried that the increased autonomy of the electric arc furnace would lead to job losses. Unions presented
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#1732779484573996-462: A variety of different end uses. Output is taken by rail from Margam Knuckle Yard to Shotton for coating, Trostre for tinplating, or direct to the Midlands for the motor industry and domestic goods. Tata Steel announced on 30 March 2016 it may pull out of its UK operations, including Port Talbot. It provided as reasons "imports of Chinese steel, high energy costs and weak demand ". "Plans to save
1079-556: Is a steel mill in Port Talbot , Wales . Over 4,000 people worked at the plant until the last blast furnace closed in October 2024. Around 2,000 employees remain after this time, processing imported steel slabs to produce rolled steel products. The mill is in the process of building a 320-ton capacity electric arc furnace which would be operational in late 2027. The majority of the steel slabs produced before September 2024
1162-426: Is also the site for Neath Port Talbot Hospital which is situated on Baglan Way, Port Talbot. The local Neath Port Talbot Council is the education authority in the area which operates primary schools and secondary schools within the county. The local education authority operates 6 infant schools, 6 junior schools, 56 primary schools, 11 secondary schools and 3 special schools. Further Education in Neath Port Talbot
1245-628: Is available throughout Europe on satellite and online throughout the UK. Since the digital switchover was completed in South Wales on 31 March 2010, S4C Digidol became the main broadcasting channel and fully in Welsh. The main evening television news provided by the BBC in Welsh is available for download. There is also a Welsh-language radio station, BBC Radio Cymru , which was launched in 1977. Port Talbot Steelworks Port Talbot Steelworks
1328-551: Is correctly termed Tata Steel Strip Products UK Port Talbot Works . It is believed to be named after the Cistercian Margam Abbey that used to be on the site – a small amount of the original building still stands (protected) within the site that survived the dissolution of the monasteries. Several steel manufacturers in South Wales pooled their resources to form the Steel Company of Wales , to construct
1411-439: Is covered by forestry with major conifer plantations in upland areas. Most of the lower-lying flat land is near the coast around Port Talbot. An extensive dune system stretches along much of the coast, broken by river mouths and areas of development. The upland areas are cut by five valleys: Vale of Neath , Dulais Valley , Afan Valley , Swansea Valley (or Tawe Valley), Upper Amman Valley . Modern settlement patterns reflect
1494-420: Is evidenced by the dropping of final syllables from Brittonic: * bardos 'poet' became bardd , and * abona 'river' became afon . Though both Davies and Jackson cite minor changes in syllable structure and sounds as evidence for the creation of Old Welsh, Davies suggests it may be more appropriate to refer to this derivative language as Lingua Britannica rather than characterising it as
1577-407: Is governed by Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council . Neath Port Talbot is a staunch Labour stronghold, who have been in power since the authority's formation in 1996; although after the 2022 local elections, Labour failed to retain control over the council after losing several council seats. The unitary authority contains two whole constituencies which are: In 1991 Neath & Port Talbot
1660-581: Is provided by a range of institutions. St. Joseph's Catholic School & Sixth Form Centre in Port Talbot and Ysgol Gyfun Ystalyfera have traditional sixth form settings. NPTC Group operates from several sites within the county borough. The largest sites are located in Neath, Port Talbot and Pontardawe. The first dedicated higher education site in Neath Port Talbot opened in 2015 when Swansea University opened its science and innovation campus in Crymlyn Burrows . The University of South Wales has
1743-586: Is spoken by smaller numbers of people in Canada and the United States descended from Welsh immigrants, within their households (especially in Nova Scotia ). Historically, it has also been known in English as "British", "Cambrian", "Cambric" and "Cymric". The Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011 gave the Welsh language official status in Wales. Welsh and English are de jure official languages of
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#17327794845731826-500: The 2016 Australian census , 1,688 people noted that they spoke Welsh. In the 2011 Canadian census , 3,885 people reported Welsh as their first language . According to the 2021 Canadian census , 1,130 people noted that Welsh was their mother tongue. The 2018 New Zealand census noted that 1,083 people in New Zealand spoke Welsh. The American Community Survey 2009–2013 noted that 2,235 people aged five years and over in
1909-466: The 2021 census , 7,349 people in England recorded Welsh to be their "main language". In the 2011 census, 1,189 people aged three and over in Scotland noted that Welsh was a language (other than English) that they used at home. It is believed that there are as many as 5,000 speakers of Patagonian Welsh . In response to the question 'Does the person speak a language other than English at home?' in
1992-683: The Battle of Dyrham , a military battle between the West Saxons and the Britons in 577 AD, which split the South Western British from direct overland contact with the Welsh. Four periods are identified in the history of Welsh, with rather indistinct boundaries: Primitive Welsh, Old Welsh, Middle Welsh, and Modern Welsh. The period immediately following the language's emergence is sometimes referred to as Primitive Welsh, followed by
2075-538: The European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages in respect of Welsh. The language has greatly increased its prominence since the creation of the television channel S4C in November 1982, which until digital switchover in 2010 broadcast 70 per cent of Channel 4's programming along with a majority of Welsh language shows during peak viewing hours. The all-Welsh-language digital station S4C Digidol
2158-794: The Freedom of the Borough of Neath Port Talbot. Welsh language Welsh ( Cymraeg [kəmˈraːiɡ] or y Gymraeg [ə ɡəmˈraːiɡ] ) is a Celtic language of the Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people . Welsh is spoken natively in Wales , by some in England , and in Y Wladfa (the Welsh colony in Chubut Province , Argentina ). It
2241-523: The M4 motorway and the South Wales Main Line when passing through the town. The site at Margam is made up of a number of plants across a large site, developed since 1901. The original works were built by Gilbertson, and situated south of Port Talbot railway station . Constructed in 1901–5, the works was named after Christopher Rice Mansel Talbot of Margam Castle , the principal sponsor of
2324-519: The Old Welsh period – which is generally considered to stretch from the beginning of the 9th century to sometime during the 12th century. The Middle Welsh period is considered to have lasted from then until the 14th century, when the Modern Welsh period began, which in turn is divided into Early and Late Modern Welsh. The word Welsh is a descendant, via Old English wealh, wielisc , of
2407-686: The Proto-Germanic word * Walhaz , which was derived from the name of the Celtic people known to the Romans as Volcae and which came to refer to speakers of Celtic languages, and then indiscriminately to the people of the Western Roman Empire . In Old English the term went through semantic narrowing , coming to refer to either Britons in particular or, in some contexts, slaves. The plural form Wēalas evolved into
2490-640: The United States spoke Welsh at home. The highest number of those (255) lived in Florida . Sources: Calls for the Welsh language to be granted official status grew with the establishment of the nationalist political party Plaid Cymru in 1925, the establishment of the Welsh Language Society in 1962 and the rise of Welsh nationalism in the later 20th century. Of the six living Celtic languages (including two revived), Welsh has
2573-542: The "hugely important role", adding, "I look forward to working with the Welsh Government and organisations in Wales in developing the new system of standards. I will look to build on the good work that has been done by the Welsh Language Board and others to strengthen the Welsh language and ensure that it continues to thrive." First Minister Carwyn Jones said that Huws would act as a champion for
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2656-473: The 12th to 14th centuries, of which much more remains than for any earlier period. This is the language of nearly all surviving early manuscripts of the Mabinogion , although the tales themselves are certainly much older. It is also the language of the existing Welsh law manuscripts. Middle Welsh is reasonably intelligible to a modern-day Welsh speaker. The Bible translations into Welsh helped maintain
2739-596: The 1880s identified a small part of Shropshire as still then speaking Welsh, with the "Celtic Border" passing from Llanymynech through Oswestry to Chirk . The number of Welsh-speaking people in the rest of Britain has not yet been counted for statistical purposes. In 1993, the Welsh-language television channel S4C published the results of a survey into the numbers of people who spoke or understood Welsh, which estimated that there were around 133,000 Welsh-speaking people living in England, about 50,000 of them in
2822-536: The 1993 Act nor secondary legislation made under it covers the private sector, although some organisations, notably banks and some railway companies, provide some of their information in Welsh. On 7 December 2010, the Welsh Assembly unanimously approved a set of measures to develop the use of the Welsh language within Wales. On 9 February 2011 this measure, the Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011 ,
2905-486: The Assembly which confirms the official status of the Welsh language; which creates a strong advocate for Welsh speakers and will improve the quality and quantity of services available through the medium of Welsh. I believe that everyone who wants to access services in the Welsh language should be able to do so, and that is what this government has worked towards. This legislation is an important and historic step forward for
2988-517: The Brittonic speakers in Wales were split off from those in northern England, speaking Cumbric, and those in the southwest, speaking what would become Cornish , so the languages diverged. Both the works of Aneirin ( Canu Aneirin , c. 600 ) and the Book of Taliesin ( Canu Taliesin ) were written during this era. Middle Welsh ( Cymraeg Canol ) is the label attached to the Welsh of
3071-737: The Celtic language spoken by the ancient Celtic Britons . Classified as Insular Celtic , the British language probably arrived in Britain during the Bronze Age or Iron Age and was probably spoken throughout the island south of the Firth of Forth . During the Early Middle Ages the British language began to fragment due to increased dialect differentiation, thus evolving into Welsh and
3154-684: The EU dropped significantly and high-profile industry figures spoke out about the impact the TCA, which imposed some tariffs and quotas on UK steel exports, was having on UK steel. British Steel had also made a submission to the UK Parliament highlighting the importance of the EU market, which according to their figures accounted for 70% of UK steel exports, urging them to revise the TCA. Tata themselves also acknowledged that Brexit had increased their operating costs, estimating that it had added around 15% to
3237-550: The Greater London area. The Welsh Language Board , on the basis of an analysis of the Office for National Statistics Longitudinal Study, estimated there were 110,000 Welsh-speaking people in England, and another thousand in Scotland and Northern Ireland. In the 2011 census , 8,248 people in England gave Welsh in answer to the question "What is your main language?" The Office for National Statistics subsequently published
3320-487: The Port Talbot plant in November 2001 killed three men. Len Radford, 53, Stephen Galsworthy, 25, and Andrew Hutin, 20, died when blast furnace five erupted, sending molten liquid down on them. Twelve other men were seriously injured in the blast. The blast heavily damaged No.5, which was rebuilt and resumed operation from 2003 onwards. In July 2012 Tata Steel were fined £500,000 over the 2006 death of worker Kevin Downey at
3403-494: The UK choosing to leave the EU would be "a disaster" for the UK's steel industry. The negative impact from Brexit as a result of uncertainty and lower EU customer orders was cited as one of the reasons behind the liquidation of British Steel, previously owned by Tata, prior to the UK even leaving the EU. Following the UK's departure from the EU and the implementation of the EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement , UK steel exports to
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3486-496: The Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011, all new signs have Welsh displayed first. There have been incidents of one of the languages being vandalised, which may be considered a hate crime . Since 2000, the teaching of Welsh has been compulsory in all schools in Wales up to age 16; this has had an effect in stabilising and reversing the decline in the language. Text on UK coins tends to be in English and Latin. However,
3569-704: The Welsh Language Scheme. The list of other public bodies which have to prepare Schemes could be added to by initially the Secretary of State for Wales, from 1993 to 1997, by way of statutory instrument . Subsequent to the forming of the National Assembly for Wales in 1997, the Government Minister responsible for the Welsh language can and has passed statutory instruments naming public bodies who have to prepare Schemes. Neither
3652-895: The Welsh Parliament, the Senedd , with Welsh being the only de jure official language in any part of the United Kingdom, with English being merely de facto official. According to the 2021 census , the Welsh-speaking population of Wales aged three or older was 538,300 (17.8%) and nearly three quarters of the population in Wales said they had no Welsh language skills. Other estimates suggest that 862,700 people (28.0%) aged three or older in Wales could speak Welsh in March 2024. Almost half of all Welsh speakers consider themselves fluent, while 20 per cent are able to speak
3735-526: The Welsh language, though some had concerns over her appointment: Plaid Cymru spokeswoman Bethan Jenkins said, "I have concerns about the transition from Meri Huws's role from the Welsh Language Board to the language commissioner, and I will be asking the Welsh government how this will be successfully managed. We must be sure that there is no conflict of interest, and that the Welsh Language Commissioner can demonstrate how she will offer
3818-487: The Welsh of the 16th century, but they are similar enough for a fluent Welsh speaker to have little trouble understanding it. During the Modern Welsh period, there has been a decline in the popularity of the Welsh language: the number of Welsh speakers declined to the point at which there was concern that the language would become extinct. During industrialisation in the late 19th century, immigrants from England led to
3901-630: The Welsh-speaking heartlands, with the number dropping to under 50 per cent in Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire for the first time. However, according to the Welsh Language Use Survey in 2019–20, 22 per cent of people aged three and over were able to speak Welsh. The Annual Population Survey (APS) by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimated that as of March 2024, approximately 862,700, or 28.0 per cent of
3984-579: The ancestor of Cumbric as well as Welsh. Jackson, however, believed that the two varieties were already distinct by that time. The earliest Welsh poetry – that attributed to the Cynfeirdd or "Early Poets" – is generally considered to date to the Primitive Welsh period. However, much of this poetry was supposedly composed in the Hen Ogledd , raising further questions about the dating of
4067-465: The causes behind Tata choosing to close the blast furnaces in 2024 as opposed to accepting the proposal from unions to keep them open as the plant transitioned to more environmentally friendly methods of production. Many commentators have blamed Net Zero targets. However, Labour former Welsh First Minister Carwyn Jones pointed to the UK's decision to leave the EU as a factor, stating that the uncertainty caused by Brexit resulted in reluctance to invest in
4150-408: The census. In terms of usage, ONS also reported that 14.4 per cent (443,800) of people aged three or older in Wales reported that they spoke Welsh daily in March 2024, with 5.4 per cent (165,500) speaking it weekly and 6.5 per cent (201,200) less often. Approximately 1.7 per cent (51,700) reported that they never spoke Welsh despite being able to speak the language, with the remaining 72.0 per cent of
4233-481: The cost of transport and processing. Tata Steel also received criticism for stating environmental reasons were behind their decision to close the blast furnaces at Port Talbot due to their construction of new blast furnaces in India. There have been many fatalities caused by industrial accidents at the plant since its opening, the number having been reduced over the years by improved safety measures. An explosion at
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#17327794845734316-598: The county borough compared to under than 14% in Wales as a whole; just under 70% of local jobs are in services compared to a Welsh average of nearly 80%. The Port Talbot Steelworks , operated by Tata , is the largest employer with approximately 3,000 staff (although in 1979 its predecessor employed 12,600); other large employers include General Electric , Hi-Lex Cable Systems Ltd (closing in 2021 ), TRW Steering Systems recently closed, Envases (UK) Ltd, Crown Food UK & Ireland, Toyoda Koki, Sofidel , Cornelius Electronics, Excel Electronics Assemblies, and Tedeco. Port Talbot
4399-414: The course of the 20th century this monolingual population all but disappeared, but a small percentage remained at the time of the 1981 census. Most Welsh-speaking people in Wales also speak English. However, many Welsh-speaking people are more comfortable expressing themselves in Welsh than in English. A speaker's choice of language can vary according to the subject domain and the social context, even within
4482-479: The decline in Welsh speakers particularly in the South Wales Valleys. Welsh government processes and legislation have worked to increase the proliferation of the Welsh language, for example through education. Welsh has been spoken continuously in Wales throughout history; however, by 1911, it had become a minority language, spoken by 43.5 per cent of the population. While this decline continued over
4565-475: The developments at Port of Port Talbot , which had opened in 1837. The site was closed in 1961 and demolished in 1963. The General Offices housed Port Talbot magistrates' court until 2012, but the rest of the site is an industrial estate . Steelmaking at the Port Talbot complex began with the Margam Iron and Steel Works, completed between 1923 and 1926. Abbey Steelworks was planned in 1947, but today
4648-491: The firm with a plan to keep one of the two blast furnaces open until 2032 in order to minimise job losses. The firm rejected the plan, announcing in January 2024 that they would close both blast furnaces, putting 3,000 jobs at risk. With Tata being the largest private employer in Port Talbot, concerns have been raised regarding the future economic health of the town. There has been controversy among some commentators around
4731-441: The following day. At the time of the reorganisation, many local people expected that Neath and Port Talbot districts would become separate unitary authorities, and there were protests when the new authority was announced. The whole of the Neath Port Talbot area was once part of the county of West Glamorgan , which in turn is part of the historic county of Glamorgan . Since local government re-organisation in 1996, Neath Port Talbot
4814-491: The following decades, the language did not die out. The smallest number of speakers was recorded in 1981 with 503,000 although the lowest percentage was recorded in the most recent census in 2021 at 17.8 per cent. By the start of the 21st century, numbers began to increase once more, at least partly as a result of the increase in Welsh-medium education . The 2004 Welsh Language Use Survey showed that 21.7 per cent of
4897-469: The highest number of native speakers who use the language on a daily basis, and it is the Celtic language which is considered the least endangered by UNESCO . The Welsh Language Act 1993 and the Government of Wales Act 1998 provide that the Welsh and English languages be treated equally in the public sector, as far as is reasonable and practicable. Each public body is required to prepare for approval
4980-413: The highest percentage of residents giving Welsh as their main language. The census also revealed that 3,528 wards in England, or 46% of the total number, contained at least one resident whose main language is Welsh. In terms of the regions of England , North West England (1,945), London (1,310) and the West Midlands (1,265) had the highest number of people noting Welsh as their main language. According to
5063-403: The industrial history of the area, with urban development along the flatter areas of the valleys and some parts of the coast. Neath with a population of 47,020 is the largest town, followed by Port Talbot (35,633), Briton Ferry (7,186), Pontardawe (5,035), and Glynneath (4,368). The majority of the population live in the coastal plain around Port Talbot and the land around the River Neath in
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#17327794845735146-431: The language, its speakers and for the nation." The measure was not welcomed warmly by all supporters: Bethan Williams, chairman of the Welsh Language Society, gave a mixed response to the move, saying, "Through this measure we have won official status for the language and that has been warmly welcomed. But there was a core principle missing in the law passed by the Assembly before Christmas. It doesn't give language rights to
5229-402: The least endangered Celtic language by UNESCO . The language of the Welsh developed from the language of Britons . The emergence of Welsh was not instantaneous and clearly identifiable. Instead, the shift occurred over a long period, with some historians claiming that it had happened by as late as the 9th century , with a watershed moment being that proposed by linguist Kenneth H. Jackson ,
5312-495: The material and language in which it was originally composed. This discretion stems from the fact that Cumbric was widely believed to have been the language used in Hen Ogledd. An 8th-century inscription in Tywyn shows the language already dropping inflections in the declension of nouns. Janet Davies proposed that the origins of the Welsh language were much less definite; in The Welsh Language: A History , she proposes that Welsh may have been around even earlier than 600 AD. This
5395-468: The modern period across the border in England. Archenfield was still Welsh enough in the time of Elizabeth I for the Bishop of Hereford to be made responsible, together with the four Welsh bishops, for the translation of the Bible and the Book of Common Prayer into Welsh. Welsh was still commonly spoken there in the first half of the 19th century, and churchwardens' notices were put up in both Welsh and English until about 1860. Alexander John Ellis in
5478-433: The name for their territory, Wales. The modern names for various Romance-speaking people in Continental Europe (e.g. Walloons , Valaisans , Vlachs / Wallachians , and Włosi , the Polish name for Italians) have a similar etymology. The Welsh term for the language, Cymraeg , descends from the Brythonic word combrogi , meaning 'compatriots' or 'fellow countrymen'. Welsh evolved from Common Brittonic ,
5561-413: The notable exception of Bryncoch South and Margam where the population grew by 47.29% and 41.36% respectively. Local council estimates show the population to have grown during the 2000s. On 1 April 1996, Neath Port Talbot was created from the former districts of Neath , Port Talbot and part of Lliw Valley . Originally known as "Neath and Port Talbot" in the legislation, the name change happened on
5644-457: The older furnaces, numbers 1 and 2 built in the 1920s, were demolished. No.3 furnace, built in 1941, was retained and used as a stand-by, until demolished in the mid-2000s. At the time of peak employment in the 1960s, the Abbey Works was Europe's largest steelworks and the largest single employer in Wales, with a labour force of 18,000. In 1967, The Steel Company of Wales was nationalised and absorbed into British Steel Corporation , which
5727-503: The other Brittonic languages. It is not clear when Welsh became distinct. Linguist Kenneth H. Jackson has suggested that the evolution in syllabic structure and sound pattern was complete by around AD 550, and labelled the period between then and about AD 800 "Primitive Welsh". This Primitive Welsh may have been spoken in both Wales and the Hen Ogledd ('Old North') – the Brittonic-speaking areas of what are now northern England and southern Scotland – and therefore may have been
5810-402: The people of Wales in every aspect of their lives. Despite that, an amendment to that effect was supported by 18 Assembly Members from three different parties, and that was a significant step forward." On 5 October 2011, Meri Huws , Chair of the Welsh Language Board , was appointed the new Welsh Language Commissioner. She released a statement that she was "delighted" to have been appointed to
5893-407: The plant and had made it less competitive and less viable as a business, highlighting that Tata was retaining blast furnace operations in the Netherlands and choosing to close them in the UK. Figures from the steel industry had for some time been warning that leaving the EU would have a negative impact on UK steel, and Stephen Kinnock , Port Talbot's MP, had also warned prior to the referendum that
5976-471: The population not being able to speak it. The National Survey for Wales, conducted by Welsh Government, has also tended to report a higher percentage of Welsh speakers than the census, with the most recent results for 2022–2023 suggesting that 18 per cent of the population aged 3 and over were able to speak Welsh, with an additional 16 per cent noting that they had some Welsh-speaking ability. Historically, large numbers of Welsh people spoke only Welsh. Over
6059-502: The population of Wales aged 3 and over, were able to speak the language. Children and young people aged three to 15 years old were more likely to report that they could speak Welsh than any other age group (48.4 per cent, 241,300). Around 1,001,500 people, or 32.5 per cent, reported that they could understand spoken Welsh. 24.7 per cent (759,200) could read and 22.2 per cent (684,500) could write in Welsh. The APS estimates of Welsh language ability are historically higher than those produced by
6142-407: The population of Wales spoke Welsh, compared with 20.8 per cent in the 2001 census , and 18.5 per cent in the 1991 census . Since 2001, however, the number of Welsh speakers has declined in both the 2011 and 2021 censuses to about 538,300 or 17.8 per cent in 2021, lower than 1991, although it is still higher in absolute terms. The 2011 census also showed a "big drop" in the number of speakers in
6225-409: The required fresh approach to this new role." Huws started her role as the Welsh Language Commissioner on 1 April 2012. Local councils and the Senedd use Welsh, issuing Welsh versions of their literature, to varying degrees. Road signs in Wales are in Welsh and English. Prior to 2016, the choice of which language to display first was the responsibility of the local council. Since then, as part of
6308-487: The steelworks were put on hold when potential buyers indicated their intention to withdraw from the bidding process due to the UK voting in favour of withdrawing from the EU" . However, in spite of the Brexit result and warnings from industry and elsewhere that leaving the EU could have a disruptive effect on UK steel, following the vote Tata recommitted to the plant. The UK Government said it "remains committed to supporting
6391-488: The third most populous county borough. The population at the October 2024 about 141,900. The population in the coastal areas is mainly English-speaking, whereas in the valleys in the north of the borough there are many who are Welsh-speaking. The local authority area stretches from the coast to the border of the Brecon Beacons National Park . The majority of the land is upland or semi-upland and 43%
6474-526: The use of Welsh in daily life, and standardised spelling. The New Testament was translated by William Salesbury in 1567, and the complete Bible by William Morgan in 1588. Modern Welsh is subdivided into Early Modern Welsh and Late Modern Welsh. Early Modern Welsh ran from the 15th century through to the end of the 16th century, and the Late Modern Welsh period roughly dates from the 16th century onwards. Contemporary Welsh differs greatly from
6557-503: The vicinity of Neath. Many of the larger towns in the borough lie within the Swansea Urban Area . The population in the region reached its peak in the 1930s. Census figures show a population of 151,563 in 1931. The population has shown a steady decline throughout the rest of the 20th century. The population stood at 134,471 in 2001. In the 1990s, most areas within the region showed a fall or little change in population with
6640-455: Was a distinct travel to work area (albeit with different boundaries to the current county borough), but the 2001-based revision has merged the locality into a wider Swansea Bay travel to work area. In June 2008, the economic activity and employment rates in Neath Port Talbot were below the Welsh average. However, earnings for full-time workers were higher than either the Welsh or British average. Manufacturing accounts for over 22% of jobs in
6723-518: Was passed and received Royal Assent, thus making the Welsh language an officially recognised language within Wales. The measure: The measure required public bodies and some private companies to provide services in Welsh. The Welsh government's Minister for Heritage at the time, Alun Ffred Jones , said, "The Welsh language is a source of great pride for the people of Wales, whether they speak it or not, and I am delighted that this measure has now become law. I am very proud to have steered legislation through
6806-532: Was rolled on-site at Port Talbot and at the Newport Llanwern site to make a variety of steel strip products. The remainder was processed at other Tata Steel plants or sold in slab form. After September 2024 imported steel slabs are used as inputs at those rolling plants. The works covers a large area of land which dominates the east of the town. Its two inactive blast furnaces and steel production plant buildings are major landmarks visible from both
6889-564: Was subsequently privatised and merged with Hoogovens to form Corus Group . Tata Group agreed to purchase all Corus' ordinary shares in March 2007, and the deal was concluded in April 2007. In 2010 it was announced that Corus was to be rebranded to the group name of Tata Steel Europe. It is an integrated steelmaking site using imported ore and coal; together with Llanwern steelworks , the plants produce up to 3.5 million tonnes of hot rolled and cold rolled annealed steel coils per annum, for
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