Gaelic signage and statistical information: FOI release

Information requested

1. How much to date has the Scottish Government spent on including the Gaelic names of towns/villages/cities/bus stations/police cars/ambulances/ train stations etc?

2. How much of the Scottish population speak Gaelic as a native language and don’t know English?

3. What was the driver behind this initiative?

Response

1. Regarding how much to date the Scottish Government has spent on including the Gaelic names of towns/villages/cities/bus stations/police cars/ambulances/train stations etc.

The cost for including the Gaelic names of villages, towns and cities is not entirely incurred by the Scottish Government, local road signage and other road furniture is under the remit of the local authorities, as such it is not held by the Scottish Government. Transport Scotland, which comes under the remit of the Scottish Government, is responsible for signage on trunk roads. Transport Scotland does not have the information you have asked for. While its records finance system includes costs for traffic signs the rates do not differentiate by sign type or language. Transport Scotland additionally do not hold any information to enable the cost of Gaelic road signs to be disaggregated from overall totals. Therefore Transport Scotland does not hold any information to enable the costs associated with Gaelic road signs to be distinguished between a single language and bi-lingual sign from the overall totals.

The cost for including Gaelic on bus stations is not entirely incurred by the Scottish Government. Bus station ownership is de-regulated and bus station ownership is largely under the responsibility of local transport authorities and bus operators, whom as they are not part of the Scottish Government we do not hold the information on. It is not an objective of the Community bus fund and the Bus Partnership Fund does not have any specific awareness of funding for Gaelic in bus stations. While inclusion of Gaelic is standard in the Highlands this is not differentiated in any way by spend, and the Scottish Government does not have any manner to disaggregate this spending. Therefore, while our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the Scottish Government does not have this information you have requested.

The costs for including Gaelic on police cars and ambulances are not incurred by the Scottish Government. Rather they are the responsibility of Police Scotland and the Scottish Ambulance Service, the publicly available links to ask for these FOI requests are Freedom of Information - Police Scotland and Making an FOI Request (scottishambulance.com) respectively. Therefore, while our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the Scottish Government does not have this information you have requested.

The use of Gaelic language in railway signage throughout Scotland is an operational matter for ScotRail and Network Rail who manage rail stations in Scotland. You may wish to contact ScotRail at FOI@scotrail.co.uk and Network Rail at https://www.networkrail.co.uk/who-we-are/transparency-and ethics/freedom-of-information-foi/ who may be able to help you.

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the Scottish Government does not have the information you requested. Therefore this is a formal notice under Section 17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested.

2. Regarding how much of the Scottish Population speak Gaelic as a native language and don't know English. Information relating to the ability to speak, read, write and understand Gaelic and English is held by the National Records of Scotland. The most recent data set on the ability to speak Gaelic and to speak, read and write English is the 2011 Census, available at Home | Scotland's Census (scotlandscensus.gov.uk). However, the Scottish Government does not query the native language of Speakers so we do not hold this information, the language spoken at home however is available and may be of interest to you. Additionally, the Scottish Government does not query the overlap of Gaelic and English speakers, writers and readers so we do not hold this information.

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the Scottish Government does not have the information you requested. Therefore this is a formal notice under Section 17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested.

3. Regarding what was the driver behind this initiative. The Scottish Government is dedicated to affirming Gaelic being a national language of Scotland. These actions by the Scottish Government and related public bodies predate the Scottish Government in many respects, such as the usage of Gaelic in train stations. Furthermore, through the usage of Gaelic in signage it ensures exposure to Gaelic for all of Scotland. Gaelic's place in Scotland as a language as a result is considered important to both the Highland and Islands specifically and to the whole of Scotland's cultural heritage. Therefore, through the encouragement of Gaelic being included within public life it encourages a secure future of Gaelic, for those who wish to use and learn the language.

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at http://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.