Meeting of the Parliament 17 June 2025
Feasgar math. Amendment 65 would require local authorities to develop local Gaelic plans for the designated areas of linguistic significance, in consultation with the community, Bòrd na Gàidhlig and other stakeholders. That is somewhat equivalent to the provision that requires the bòrd to lead on the preparation of a community Gaelic language plan.
The amendment arises from concerns that the bòrd is not democratically accountable to local authorities and that the link between the local plan that it would produce for the ALS and the council-wide Gaelic language plan is not clear or strong enough.
Currently, the local plan must have regard to the council-wide Gaelic language plan, but not the other way round. The alternative way to achieve that would be for ministers to set out clearly in the statutory guidance that the council’s Gaelic language plan must include specific provisions for each area of linguistic significance within its geographical remit—that is, the community plans, as set out in the provision that I mentioned, should effectively form part of the council’s overall Gaelic language plan, even though those community plans would not originate from the council.
My concern relates to the lack of a sufficient connection between the council-wide Gaelic language plan and the community plans for each area of linguistic significance, which, as I said, would not be produced by the council but would be produced by the bòrd—in consultation, one would hope, with the council and, of course, with the local community. If the cabinet secretary could confirm that that will be addressed in the statutory guidance—that the community plan should form part of the council's overall Gaelic language plan, even though the council itself is not leading on that community plan—that would probably be sufficient for me not to move amendment 65.