Doubling down on the criticism they have recently received from the Council of Europe for not supporting the Cornish language enough, Cornwall Council have been given notice that there will be no money to promote the Cornish language this year. In his Leader’s announcements at this morning’s Cornwall Council cabinet meeting Julian German said
“Unfortunately the Prime Minister seems to have forgotten his Cornish roots” – referring to the PM’s father Stanley Johnson, who was born in Penzance – “as we have seen, the government has been criticised by the Council of Europe for not meeting its international obligations to the Cornish under the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities. We have also received from government a letter saying that they will not be providing any funding for the Cornish language in this financial year.”
The council leader, who is a fluent Cornish speaker himself, continued “I’ve raised this with our MPs and have also asked government direct how they will be meeting their international obligations under the European Charter for Regional and Minority Languages to support and promote Cornish”
The government provided £200,000 for the promotion of Cornish language and culture in the 2019/20 financial year.
In reference to the Cornish language the Council of Europe said in its recent report that the Government should “devolve the necessary responsibilities to Cornwall Council enabling it to effectively promote Cornish”.
It said that “immediate action” was needed to devolve responsibility and provide funding to Cornwall Council to promote the Cornish language.
But in response to the proposals the Council submitted to government for funding of Cornish culture and language projects in the 2020/21 financial year, the Department of Local Government and Communities responded,
“I regret to inform you that we will not be providing direct funding to Cornwall Council for such projects in the 20/21 financial year”
The letter continues,”Though this will not be the news you were hoping for in regard to the funding of specific projects, I do want to reiterate our commitment to continuing to support and promote Cornish language and heritage under both the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages and the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities.”
“The UK Government will also continue to formally represent Cornwall on the British-Irish Council’s Indigenous and Minority Languages working group. While full membership of the British-Irish Council remains available only to devolved nations, we will continue to work with you and regularly attend meetings at an official level to ensure that Cornwall Council’s views are considered, as we know that this forum is a great place to share best practice and ideas with others on the preservation and promotion of minority languages.”
