Question reference: S6W-22353

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour

Date lodged: 23 October 2023

Current status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 6 November 2023

Question

To ask the Scottish Government what support it provides to (a) third sector, (b) private and (c) tertiary educational facilities to include provision for (i) Scots and (ii) Gaelic language materials.

Answer

The Scottish Government provides £29m support across a range of Gaelic and Scots organisations, whose activities include the provision of Scots and Gaelic language materials but is not all they do. For Scots, grant funding is provided to the following organisations: Association of Scottish Literary Studies, Scottish Book Trust, Scots Hoose, Scots Radio, Scots Language Centre, Dictionaries of the Scots Language, Yaldi Books and the Doric Board. For Gaelic, grant funding is provided to Storlann, Bòrd na Gidhlig, Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, Local Authorities, E-sgoil, Tobar an Dualchais, Keep Scotland Beautiful, University of Edinburgh, and MG Alba for Speak Gaelic and Film G.

Question reference: S6W-21697

Asked by: Emma Harper, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish National Party

Date lodged: 22 September 2023

Current status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 3 October 2023

Question

To ask the Scottish Government on which date it plans to publish a draft of the proposed Gaelic and Scots and Scottish Languages Bill.

Answer

The most recent Programme for Government (2023-24) sets out the Scottish Government’s intention to introduce the Scottish Languages Bill in this current parliamentary year.

Question reference: S6W-21620

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party

Date lodged: 21 September 2023

Current status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 3 October 2023

Question

To ask the Scottish Government when its proposed Scottish Languages Bill, announced in its Programme for Government 2023-24, will be introduced to the Scottish Parliament.

Answer

The most recent Programme for Government (2023-24) sets out the Scottish Government’s intention to introduce the Scottish Languages Bill in this current parliamentary year.

Question reference: S6W-19865

Asked by: Emma Harper, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish National Party

Date lodged: 10 July 2023

Current status: Answered by Christine Grahame (on behalf of the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate on 28 July 2023

Question

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body whether it has any plans to update the current Scottish Parliament educational resources published in the Scots language, in order to reflect the composition and the processes of the current parliamentary session.

Answer

There are no immediate plans to update our current educational resources into the Scots language. Our language policy is under review and once approved by the SPCB, it will determine what languages we offer resources in for the future.

Our current policy position is: “The SPCB publishes information in different languages to facilitate the engagement of people who live in Scotland with their Parliament. Languages selected for translation are reviewed on a regular basis and are updated to reflect population trends and perceived need.”

As part of our review, we have engaged with, and continue to engage with, stakeholders and monitor educational and linguistic trends. There are currently some resources in Scots and to date, these have met the level of demand we have from schools and MSPs.

I will update the Member as our review progresses and when it is approved. In the meantime, our Education Services team are happy to work with the Member and schools to see which resources that would be of use in Scots and to provide these within the school year that starts in August.

Question reference: S6W-19732

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party

Date lodged: 3 July 2023

Current status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 17 July 2023

Question

To ask the Scottish Government what meetings it has had with Scotland’s National Centre for Languages since May 2021, and what the agreed outcomes were of any such meetings.

Answer

Scottish Government officials have held quarterly meetings with Scotland’s National Centre for Languages (SCILT) since May 2021 as part of the grant management process. Officials have also met with staff from SCILT to discuss projects on an ad-hoc basis.

The outcomes of such meetings have included agreed objectives relating to grant funding to SCILT and decisions on whether to continue to provide funding and the amount of funding available.

Question reference: S6W-18549

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour

Date lodged: 2 June 2023

Current status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 9 June 2023

Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it is supporting the provision of indigenous minority languages in the education sector.

Answer

The Scottish Government recognises the importance of supporting the provision of indigenous minority languages in the education sector. There are a range of measures in place to support the varied needs of Gaelic and Scots in our schools and the use and learning of both languages. These measures to promote the use and learning of both languages include initiatives that improve access, classroom delivery, teacher support and more. Good progress has been made recently with the Scottish Government’s published consultation report on Gaelic commitments and the report prepared by the Short Life Working Group on Economic and Social Opportunities for Gaelic. We also expect to make further progress with the forthcoming Scottish Languages Bill.

Question reference: S6W-18101

Asked by: Michael Marra, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour

Date lodged: 19 May 2023

Current status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 7 June 2023

Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a timeline for its proposed Scottish Languages Bill, including an estimated date for its introduction to Parliament.

Answer

The Scottish Government carried out a consultation on the Future of Gaelic and Scots from August to December 2022 and these responses will help shape any future legislation. The responses have been independently analysed and it is hope that these will be published by the Scottish Government on 7 June.

A decision on the timing of the Bill’s introduction to Parliament will be taken by Cabinet in the context of setting the content of future legislative programmes.

Question reference: S6W-16334

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party

Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 March 2023

Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 21 April 2023

Question

To ask the Scottish Government what guidance it has provided to local authorities to promote the teaching of the Scots language.

Answer

The Scottish Government has made clear our support for indigenous languages, including Scots.

The Scottish Government provides around £550,000 of funding to Scots organisations who support Scots education. Organisations such as the Scots Language Centre, Dictionaries of the Scots Language, The Association of Scottish Literary Studies, Scots Hoose and Yaldi Books are all supporting Local Authorities through the development of high quality Scots language learning and resources which allow young people access to Scots.

In addition, the Scottish Government works alongside Education Scotland and the SQA who have worked to standardise, promote and make the Scots language more readily available in schools. The Scottish Government’s Scots language policy was officially launched in 2015 and in 2017 Education Scotland published its Scots Language in Curriculum for Excellence report, which outlines good practice for teachers and senior leaders in Primary and Secondary and to Local authority officers with responsibility for literacy and 1+2 implementation.

We are currently considering the responses to the recent consultation on the future of Gaelic and Scots, this will help inform part of the work to develop Scots language policy and future guidance for Local Authorities, as well as the upcoming Scottish Languages Bill.

Question reference: S6W-14948

Asked by: Emma Harper, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish National Party

Date lodged: Friday, 10 February 2023

Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 28 February 2023

Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its work to bring forward legislation to enhance, promote and protect the Scots language.

Answer

The Scottish Government’s consultation on Gaelic and Scots closed on 8 December 2022 and the responses from this consultation will help inform part of the work to develop Scots language policy and the proposed Scottish Languages Bill.

As part of the consultation process, the Gaelic and Scots Division undertook a variety of public engagement events to ensure the views of Scots speakers and stakeholders were heard. This included attendance at the Scots Cross Party Group. The responses to the consultation are now being analysed and will help shape any future legislation.

Question reference: S6W-13323

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party

Date lodged: 19 December 2022

Answered by Angus Robertson on 17 January 2023

Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-12846 by Angus Robertson on 13 December 2022, whether it will release the number of (a) Gaelic and (b) Scots language speakers recorded in the 2022 Census early in order to inform its proposed Scottish Languages Bill.

Answer

National Records of Scotland (NRS) will release the 2022 census outputs in phases. NRS are currently consulting with data users on the outputs from Scotland's Census 2022, including plans for publishing census data. NRS are asking users to give their views on the order and sequencing of topics published.

The current working plan for the first release of Census 2022 data is to deliver rounded population estimates approximately one year from the end of the Census data collection period. Further phases of census data publications will then follow with the current intention being to release data on languages in the second phase.