Forbes: Law would help parents who want Gaelic schools

Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes says new legislation would "strengthen the rights" of parents who want Gaelic medium education (GME) in their local area.

Under the proposed powers, the Scottish government could request that a local authority carry out an assessment into the viability of the provision.

GME is available to all children and young people in 14 out of Scotland's 32 local authorities , according to Education Scotland.

MSPs are due to vote on the Scottish Languages Bill next week.

The proposed legislation also includes establishing Gaelic and Scots as official languages.

On a visit to Inverness, Forbes told BBC Naidheachdan: "Through the languages bill, we are strengthening the rights of parents and pupils to ask for Gaelic medium education in their area.

"In the past, a parent could ask for Gaelic medium education but there was no guarantee that it would be delivered.

"What we've introduced through the bill is that where a parent asks for it and it isn't provided, referral can be made to the Scottish government to then also make that request."

Forbes, who is a Gaelic speaker, said other "processes" would have to be followed before GME could eventually be put in place.

She said there were some "complexities" in the proposed legislation, adding: "What we've done is strengthen the voice of parents who ask for Gaelic medium education."

Forbes added that the Scottish government was separately trying to boost the numbers of Gaelic teachers.

There have been warnings in the past of a shortage of GME teaching staff.

Education Scotland, a Scottish government agency, said GME was available in about 60 primary schools and their associated secondaries in Scotland.

GME is available to children through primary and secondary school.

The number of people using Gaelic has increased across Scotland despite a decline in the language's heartland, according to the latest census data.

The 2022 figures showed 130,161 people in Scotland had some Gaelic skills - an increase of 43,105 people from 2011.

Experts said the increase in GME accounted for the rise.

However, the data suggested Gaelic was a minority language in the Western Isles.

While 52% reported speaking Gaelic in 2011, the figure in 2022 was 45%.

This year marks 20 years since the introduction of the Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act 2005.

The census figures also suggested 2.4 million people in Scotland had some skills in Scots skills in 2022 - an increase of more than 515,000 on 2011.