Short Life Working Group on Economic and Social Opportunities for Gaelic report: SG response

Ministerial Foreword

The report of the Short Life Working Group on Economic and Social Opportunities for Gaelic was commissioned under the National Strategy for Economy Transformation (NSET). This provides the vision for Scotland’s economic development – one which places individual and social wellbeing at the centre of the Scottish Government’s programme for growth. In their report, the Short Life Working Group articulates the place which Gaelic has in that vision. Key to their argument is that Gaelic is both an asset to the Scottish economy and that Scottish economic policy is vital to the survival of our traditional Gaelic communities. Within that is a deeper argument for the importance of linguistic diversity to social and economic wellbeing.

They have provided a compelling prospectus for Gaelic development. This prospectus builds on the advances made by the language over the last generation – through the introduction of Gaelic medium education; the rise of Gaelic community development; the expansion of Gaelic broadcasting; and the establishment of Gaelic language planning in public policy. In doing so it highlights how this advancement has been to the benefit of the communities focused on by the report – a benefit which has in turn been felt across wider Scottish society, something demonstrated not least by the growth of Gaelic in Scotland’s cities. It is the responsibility of the Scottish Government and our stakeholders to ensure that these advances are sustained. It is also our challenge to enable Gaelic to thrive in new sectors identified by the Group – such as health and social care or entrepreneurship – and to tackle the deeper economic issues – such as transport, housing and population retention – which undermine the resilience of Gaelic communities.

The Group was commissioned as part of NSET’s goal of encouraging regional productivity. Its members have identified specific parts of the north-west Highlands and Islands which constitute, in their terminology, Key Gaelic Communities. These are Na h-Eileanan Siar and Skye and some districts of Lochalsh, Tiree, Islay and Jura – places which the 2011 census recorded as having at least 20% of people with Gaelic language abilities. In the period since the publication of their report the figures of the 2011 census have been superseded by those collected in 2022. The latest figures showed a national increase in Gaelic language ability – something which is to be celebrated. However, they also revealed that the language is still declining in the rural, island districts where it can be considered a major language spoken at all levels of the community. Where Gaelic is a language spoken across the community it faces the full set of challenges encountered by that community. The Scottish Government proudly upholds a national approach to Gaelic with the principle that the language belongs to all. But it is clear that the Gaelic policies we and our stakeholders pursue within the communities identfied by this report must now take full consideration of the social and economic aspects of language revitalisation. The insights and recommendations of the Short Life Working Group represent one of the key diagnoses of the task before us. Alongside the Scottish Languages Bill it ranks as the major policy step we are now taking for Gaelic.

In the modern age, Gaelic’s contribution to Scotland’s national life long predates the contemporary period of Gaelic revival ushered in by the introduction of Gaelic medium education in 1985. Scotland’s contemporary system of land reform and community asset management finds its origins in the Highland Land Reform Movement of the late 19^th century and its signal achievement, the Crofters Holdings (Scotland) Act 1886. A movement driven by crofters articulating a political vision derived from Gaelic tenets of land rights and responsibilities has thus become a driver of prosperity across 21^st century Scotland – whether through the economic resilience brought by estate trusts to rural Scotland or the efforts of community organisations to revive urban centres in Scotland’s towns and cities. A generation later, the establishment of the Highlands & Islands Medical Service in 1913 introduced a programme of comprehensive health care in response to the distinct geographical circumstances of the north of Scotland. This provided a blueprint for the creation of the NHS in 1948 – highlighting that a service designed in response to the distinctive needs of Scotland’s Highland and Island communities could be key to the establishment of one of the pillars of our public life. The principle brought forth by these two examples recur across the present day Gaelic initiatives cited by the Group. In an age marked by a more enlightened understanding of language, and where linguistic diversity is recognised as an inherent good, it is difficult to argue that the support of Gaelic and Gaelic speaking communities will not continue to be a national investment.

The Short Life Working Group prefaced their report with the following lyrics by Calum and Rory MacDonald of Runrig:

‘Is ged a dh'fheuch iad ri cur às dhuinn Chì mo theaghlach cnoc nan linn Is ged tha ar cànan leòint’ le strì ’S an tìr seo bidh i beò’

‘Although they tried to destroy us My children will see the landscape of generations Although the language has been wounded in its struggle In this land, she will live on’

These lyrics demonstrate a keen sense of Gaelic’s historical mistreatment – but one which is tempered by pride in the ability of a language and its community to endure into the present and stake their claim to be heard and valued within a more modern and tolerant society. From this distinctly Gaelic experience we can find a general principle which speaks to the driving mission of this government: the valuing of a diverse Scottish society whose varied communities and cultures are the source of our national wealth. It is fitting that a study of Gaelic speaking communities would bear testimony to that.

Kate Forbes MSP

Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Gaelic