Scottish Languages Bill becomes law

Responding to news that the Scottish Languages Bill has now received Royal Assent and become law in Scotland, Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes said:

“As a Gaelic speaker, I am incredibly proud that our landmark Scottish Languages Bill has become law. The legislation comes 20 years on from the Gaelic Language Act and it is the first time that the Scots language has been supported in law.

“The Act will strengthen the rights of parents to ask for a Gaelic school to be established in their area, ensure that more qualifications are available in Gaelic and introduce targets on the number of people speaking and learning Gaelic.

“To accelerate the growth of Scotland's languages, we are providing an additional £5.7 million to promote Gaelic and Scots this year. We are also working to drive growth in Gaelic communities so that more people who speak the language continue to live in those areas.” 

Background

The Scottish Languages Act is available on the Scottish Parliament's website.

Census statistics show that 130,161 people in Scotland had some Gaelic skills in 2022, an increase of 43,105 from 2011. The census shows that 2,444,659 people in Scotland had some Scots skills in 2022, an increase of 515,215 from 2011.