Conservative and Unionist Party (Scottish)

There is no reference to the Scots language in the party manifesto

Labour Party (Scottish)

There is no reference to the Scots language in the party manifesto

Liberal Democrats (Scottish)

In the section on Language, the manifesto states that:

“Scotland has a distinctive and colourful language heritage. Today in Scotland there are speakers of English, Scots, Gaelic, many community languages such as Chinese and Urdu and British Sign Language. Language enriches our entire society and allows citizens to access public services and communicate with each other.

We will:

• Recognise the importance to Scotland's history and culture of our heritage languages of Gaelic and Scots. We will continue to be committed to helping these languages flourish.

• Introduce a Languages of Scotland Bill which will give councils and other public bodies a responsibility to draw up a languages plan which reflects the communities they serve.

• Place Bord Gaidhlig na h-Alba on a more secure footing by making it a statutory body with responsibility for drawing up a 'Strategy for Gaidhlig'.

• Support steps to recruit more teachers and interpreters of British Sign Language.”

Scottish Green Party

There is no reference to the Scots language in the party manifesto

Scottish National Party

The manifesto states that:

“The SNP in government will introduce a Languages Act, giving secure status for the Gaelic and Scots languages and encouraging community languages. We will build on the Gaelic Language Bill, the hearings on which have brought forward many positive suggestions for change. We will establish Bord Gaidhlig na h-Alba in statute and strengthen its ability to persuade public and private bodies to creatively consider their attitude to the language. We will introduce measures to assist the learning of Gaelic, including the learning of Gaelic as a second language in schools and adult learning.”