Plans to boost and encourage the use of Gaelic and Scots have
been passed by the Scottish Parliament.
The Scottish Languages Bill will enable parents to ask for a
Gaelic school to be established in their area. Local authorities
would then be required to assess if the request was practical and
affordable. After taking advice, ministers could direct local
authorities to proceed with the establishment a new Gaelic school
if the authority's assessment considers it to be viable.
Other measures include:
- introducing educational standards for Gaelic and Scots
- establishing Gaelic and Scots as official languages
- supporting the creation of areas of linguistic significance
in Gaelic communities so that ministers can better target
policies to support the language's growth
- enabling parents in every part of Scotland to apply for
Gaelic nursery and early years places for their children
- ensuring that more qualifications are available in Gaelic
- introducing targets on the number of people speaking and
learning Gaelic
Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Economy and
Gaelic said:
“This legislation will introduce powers to accelerate the growth
of Gaelic and Scots. It will establish them as official
languages, introduce new educational standards and support the
creation of areas of linguistic significance in Gaelic
communities.
“While there has been an encouraging increase in the number of
Gaelic speakers across Scotland, we recognise that more support
is needed in communities where the language is traditionally
spoken.
“That's why the Scottish Government is providing an additional
£5.7 million to promote Scotland's languages. 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.
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.
The latest version of the Scottish Languages Bill is
available online.
