Chamber and committees

Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills submission of 22 December 2021

PE1922/A – Cancel all Local Authority expenditure on Gaelic expansion

I am responding to the Committee on behalf of the Scottish Government in relation to Petition PE1922, raised by Douglas Capon, which calls for the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to cancel all local authority expenditure on Gaelic expansion.

Mr Capon appears to have raised the issue following the release of Inverclyde Council’s consultation on their Gaelic Language Plan on 10 December.

As you will be aware, the Gaelic language was spoken throughout Scotland for many centuries and at times has been the language of church, court and community. However, the language and its speakers have faced significant opposition and it is only right that the Scottish Government, with broad support from the Parliament, takes important steps to reverse this ill will to the Gaelic language and put in its place support for all who wish to learn and use the language in their daily lives.

The Gaelic (Scotland) Act 2005 was passed with unanimous cross party support and has helped revive the fortunes of the Gaelic language and those who wish to speak it. The Act created Bòrd na Gàidhlig and gave it the power to ask public authorities across Scotland to produce Gaelic Language Plans. These Gaelic Language Plans should demonstrate how the body will support and promote Gaelic through its everyday activities and operations. There are now around 65 public bodies involved in this process with Plans in various stages of development.

It is important to note that Bòrd na Gàidhlig works extremely closely with these public bodies to ensure that their Plans are proportionate and affordable. I have also directed the Bòrd to ensure that an open dialogue continues with the authority throughout the Gaelic Language Plan development to ensure that any change in circumstances is reflected in this work.

There is often a misunderstanding around Gaelic signage and I would like to set the record straight in this regard. As I mentioned above, there is a need to be proportionate in our efforts to support the Gaelic language whilst ensuring such work is affordable. With this in mind it is standard practice that any signage is created as part of a replacement or renewal process which therefore ensures costs are kept to a minimum. In addition, the Bòrd has a Gaelic Language Act Implementation Fund which is open to bids from any public authority to help meet any project costs or developments associated with their Plan, including such activities as signage or staff training.

Mr Capon suggests that there is no interest in Gaelic in the central belt. This could not be further from the truth with various local authorities, including Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverclyde and North Lanarkshire all witnessing growth in demand for Gaelic medium education. It should be noted that the Education (Scotland) Act 2016 places a duty on all local authorities across Scotland to promote the Gaelic education that is provided and I am pleased to acknowledge the work of local authorities in this regard.

As we are seeing the growth of Gaelic education, it is important that the Scottish Government continues to provide support. In connection with this, we are currently helping to meet demand through our Scheme of Gaelic Specific Grant and the Gaelic Schools Capital Fund. Both these funding streams are open to local authorities across Scotland to help meet the costs of Gaelic education.

I hope that this information is helpful to the Committee in its consideration of the petition.