Brecon and Radnorshire MP Fay Jones has reacted with disappointment after figures have shown a drop in Welsh speakers living in Powys.

Across Wales the number of Welsh speakers has fallen in the past decade, with fewer children speaking the language.

In 2021 an estimated 538,000 in Wales aged three and over (17.8 per cent of the population) said they can speak it, the Office for National Statistics found.

In Powys, figures for children aged three to 15 have shown an above average drop over the last decade - falling by seven per cent. The contradicts the Welsh Government's stance that says more children than ever are in Welsh medium education.

In 2011, just under 22 percent of seven-year-olds across Wales were taught through the medium of Welsh. The Welsh Government set a target of 25 percent by 2015 and 30 per cent by 2020. Neither target was reached. A new target of 24 percent was set for 2021, which was also not reached. In 2021, 22.8 percent of seven-year-olds were actually learning through the medium of Welsh. This represents just a one per cent rise in 10 years.

Speaking after the results were published, Ms Jones said: “This is a disappointing trend. I was delighted to learn that there are more pupils studying Welsh locally, but that comes down to parent power rather than Welsh Government support. It seems if we continue on this path Welsh Government targets of a million speakers by 2050 will become yet another failed target, yet again more words and no action.

“As a learner of the language I fully support the one million Welsh speakers by 2050. But parents should be the ones to choose if their children are educated in Welsh. Moreover, I would love to see a similar focus on modern languages – helping Welsh people get jobs around the world and promote Wales on the world stage.”