Efa Gruffudd Jones has departed from her role as Welsh Language Commissioner, citing personal circumstances.
The First Minister of Wales, Rhun ap Iorwerth MS, confirmed in a Written Statement that the resignation had been accepted.
The statement indicated gratitude for her service since her appointment the previous year.
A formal public appointments procedure will now be initiated to identify a successor.
During the interim period, Lowri Williams, who was previously appointed as Deputy Welsh Language Commissioner by Gruffudd Jones, will assume the responsibilities of the office until the selection process is completed.
No additional explanation has been provided regarding the reasons for the departure.
Criticism had been directed at the commissioner throughout recent weeks following the finalisation of arrangements concerning the Welsh name for Varteg, which had attracted derision.
Throughout her time in the post, she had faced persistent calls for greater intervention on various disputed place name decisions across Wales, encompassing locations in Torfaen and Llanelly Hill in Monmouthshire, alongside ongoing debate regarding the prevalence of hyphens in Welsh place names under her oversight.
In contrast to the situation with the village historically referred to by residents as Rhiw Llanelli, the commissioner had advocated for the adoption of Y Farteg in the case of the Torfaen settlement.
Information published on the commissioner’s website explained that Y Farteg appears in the authoritative reference work A Gazetteer of Welsh Place-Names, published by University of Wales Press in 1967, and that deviation from such recommendations should occur only with substantial justification.
The website further stated that Y Farteg ought to serve as the sole variant in both Welsh and English contexts, given that the alternative represents a non-standard spelling in Welsh.
The site acknowledged that Varteg remained in common usage and constitutes the sole form formally recognised by the local council.
Guidance was provided regarding the correct treatment of the Welsh definite article on signage, recommending its full capitalisation when appearing before the place name where the sign’s primary purpose is to display the location.
Further technical guidance on signage conventions was noted as available on the website.
When employed within Welsh sentences, the definite article should appear in lower case, as demonstrated in the example provided of the phrase meaning within Varteg.
Contractions following vowels, permissible under Welsh grammatical rules, were also illustrated through an example referencing travel to the location.
A 2013 initiative to establish an officially sanctioned bilingual roster of place names for towns and villages throughout Torfaen sparked controversy when inhabitants of Varteg, situated near Pontypool, protested against the inclusion of an F in the Welsh orthography.
Concerns were raised that residents would become subjects of mockery should Y Farteg appear on village signage, with the F character proposed due to the absence of V in the Welsh alphabet.
Following a public consultation that year, Torfaen Borough Council determined to preserve the Varteg spelling in both languages.
Despite submitting the approved nomenclature to the Welsh Language Commissioner during 2013, the list never received national endorsement.
The commissioner subsequently contacted the council in January of the preceding year to revisit the matter and establish agreement on standardising Torfaen place names.
An outcome of these discussions was mutual acceptance between the council and the commissioner of a compilation of 54 designations to be recognised as the official bilingual names.
This compilation also confirmed that Varteg would persist as the sanctioned spelling for the settlement across both languages.
In Cwmbran, Fairwater will retain its designation as the official bilingual name for the southwestern district of the town.
Sebastopol, situated between Cwmbran and Pontypool and bearing its name in reference to the Crimean War siege, will maintain its existing orthography in both languages.
The council’s Welsh language compliance notice has operated since 2016, adhering to the fundamental principle of treating Welsh no less favourably than English.
Approval for implementation of the list across the borough and beyond was granted through a decision by the cabinet member responsible for corporate governance, Labour representative Peter Jones, who represents Cwmbran’s Two Locks ward, the officially agreed Welsh name for which is Dwy-loc.
A report prepared by the council’s Welsh language policy officer Alan Vernon-Jones outlined that the absence of national adoption of the names had generated uncertainty.
The report observed that despite forwarding the commissioner the approved compilation, these had never achieved national status, creating difficulties in subsequent years as most external bodies consulted the commissioner’s website for official Welsh nomenclature rather than liaising with the local authority.
The revised inventory was assembled drawing upon the 2013 consultation outcomes alongside expertise contributed by the commissioner’s office.
Vernon-Jones noted that the process extended beyond initial projections following the commissioner’s approach in January 2025, attributable to the standardisation panel convening only at specified intervals.
Any necessary modifications to bilingual signage will be implemented solely during replacement or scheduled renewal cycles.
The list will be circulated to council departments, with managers instructed to ensure staff employ the standardised Welsh names in their professional activities.
During August, Gruffudd Jones used the occasion of the tenth anniversary of Welsh language standards at the National Eisteddfod to advocate for their expansion.
Her aspiration centred on the subsequent decade being devoted to extending and reinforcing the standards to address emerging challenges and support the objectives of the Cymraeg 2050 strategy.
According to the commissioner, the standards had proven essential in establishing uniformity across Welsh language service provision throughout the public sector.
Gruffudd Jones had additionally observed that current promotional approaches for the Welsh language had not yet achieved their maximum potential and should assume increased significance in generating circumstances where individuals could employ the language in everyday activities.
The matter featured prominently at a conference convened in Cardiff during September, convening approximately 150 delegates from organisations engaged in Welsh language advancement.
She had also recently voiced concerns regarding the consequences of BBC reductions for services supporting minority languages, joined in this stance by the Irish Language Commissioner for Northern Ireland.
Gruffudd Jones and Pól Deeds jointly emphasised the critical function of broadcasting in advancing regional and minority languages globally and cautioned that recent BBC announcements could undermine that contribution.