Question S4W-04186: David Stewart, Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour, Date Lodged: 23/11/2011

To ask the Scottish Executive whether submissions in languages other than English to its consultations are published in the original language.

Answered by Alasdair Allan (14/12/2011):

The Scottish Government values Scotland’s linguistic and cultural diversity and welcomes consultation responses in languages other than English. Responses in Scottish Gaelic and Scots are particularly encouraged, in keeping with the policy of normalising the use of Gaelic and Scots in contexts from which they have historically been excluded.

Consultation responses are published in the language in which they are received. Where this is a language other than English, an English translation will also be published alongside the original. Those submitting responses are welcome to provide their own English translation, but this is not a requirement and the Scottish Government will arrange for the translation of submissions as necessary.

Question S3W-40251: Bill Wilson, West of Scotland, Scottish National Party, Date Lodged: 03/03/2011

To ask the Scottish Executive when it will make representations to the UK Government regarding the Council of Europe’s Charter for Regional and Minority Languages and agreement of part III undertakings for the Scots language and what the reasons are for its position on the matter.

Answered by Fiona Hyslop (14/03/2011): At this time we have no plans to extend Part III coverage to the Scots language.

There is still some work to do to fully meet the Part II provisions and it is fitting that we complete this work before considering the requirements of the Part III provisions in respect of Scots.

Question S3W-40098: George Foulkes, Lothians, Scottish Labour, Date Lodged: 02/03/2011

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has provided any (a) agencies, (b) organisations and (c) public bodies or services with (i) books and (ii) literature on old Scots dialect and, if so, what the cost was.

Answered by Fiona Hyslop (14/03/2011): We have not provided books or literature on Old Scots dialect to any agencies, organisations, public bodies or services.

Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 14/03/2011

Motion S3M-08034: Rob Gibson, Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party, Date Lodged: 01/03/2011

Scots Census Question, Aye Can

That the Parliament welcomes the inclusion of a question in the 2011 census that, for the first time, asks people living in Scotland if they can understand, speak, read and or write Scots; considers thatthe native language of many Scots is a series of dialects such as Glaswegian, Doric, Buchan, Caithness, Gallowegian, Dundonian or Shetland; encourages those people who speak Scots dialects every day but have not realised that they are doing so to complete the question and remove the fallacy that it is slang or even bad English; notes the provision of the Aye Can website developed by the Scots Language Centre, which features examples of written and spoken Scots including recordings of people around the country speaking their local dialect, and considers the census question on Scots as the first stage toward official recognition and a means to gauge the need for provision for language learning and use throughout Scotland.

Question S3W-38925: Bill Wilson, West of Scotland, Scottish National Party, Date Lodged: 21/01/2011

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-38364 by Michael Russell on 19 January 2011, whether it will provide the information that it holds regarding the funding of Scots language education in each year since 1990.

Answered by Michael Russell (02/02/2011): There have been Scots language education initiatives since 1990, funded by Government or Scottish public bodies. The Scottish Government does not have a full list of these initiatives nor the funding attached to them.

We provided Learning and Training Scotland with £690,500 in 2008-09, £690,500 in 2009-10 and £600,000 in 2010-11 to produce support resources for Literacy and Numeracy, of which Scots is part.

Scottish Language Dictionaries received £200,000 and the Scots Language Centre received £70,000 in both 2009-10 and 2010-11. This was as a result the Scottish Government assuming responsibility for direct funding of these two organisations in February 2009, after its current allocations of funding from the Scottish Arts Council expired in 2009.

We spent £19,500 on research costs for the Audit of Current Scots Language Provision in Scotland published in January 2009. We spent a further £16,900 on research costs for the Public Attitudes Towards the Scots Language survey which explored public perceptions of, and attitudes towards, the Scots language amongst the general public of Scotland, which was published in January 2010.

The Scottish Government has provided the National Trust for Scotland with a grant of £8.6 million to develop £21 million Robert Burns Birthplace Museum which was officially opened on 21 January this year.