Meeting of the Parliament 17 June 2025
I thank the member for that question, because it is a helpful cue from which to proceed.
The requirement in the amendment does not specify the size or the type of area that would be subject to mandatory designation. We grappled with this issue extensively in the run-up to the Government lodging amendments, because I was keen to explore all possibilities with regard to it. It would not be clear from the member’s amendments which area or areas must be designated. For example, if the requirement fell on a local authority, only one area of linguistic significance would be designated in Scotland. If it applied to electoral wards, only Skye would be added to that one authority. If it applied to census output areas, which are smaller in nature, a number of very small areas would also be designated, which would probably be artificially small. In any case, it would be impractical. For example, some districts in small towns would be designated, but not others in the same town. Some small output areas in islands would be designated, but not the entire island. Some of the areas to be designated would be too small for the practical implementation of policy or programmes.
Even if we step away from the census-area issues, there are unhelpful implications for other provisions. The amendment would reduce the involvement and ownership of authorities, communities and Bòrd na Gàidhlig.
I recognise that one of the reasons why there is support for Pam Duncan-Glancy’s approach is that, to some people’s minds, it cuts out the bureaucracy of a process. However, some of the feedback that I got when engaging with local authorities and others was that the process is quite important for bringing people with them—Pam Duncan-Glancy alluded to that in her comments, too.
The compulsory yet undefined nature of the duty could result in fewer areas being designated. The member’s approach would cause a measure of confusion about the size of the area, and it would remove the involvement of those who would be closest to the process and for whom that would make a difference.