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

Communities

3.3.1 A network of properly resourced Gaelic Officers should be maintained over a sustained period to act as stimulators of a range of Gaelic social initiatives within Key Gaelic Communities as well as other areas. There could be a range of management arrangements in place, but there should be learning opportunities attached to the roles.

The Scottish Government accepts this recommendation.

Since the publication of the Group’s Report a network of Gaelic Officers has been established with administrative support from Bòrd na Gàidhlig. This built on grassroots efforts by Gaelic Officers to establish such a network. A representative of the Scottish Government’s Gaelic & Scots Division sits on the network’s advisory committee. The network brings together Gaelic Development Officers and Gaelic Plan Officers. It also involves officers working within roles which do not explicitly require Gaelic but who integrate Gaelic into their organisations’ activities. Its membership includes the Key Gaelic Communities identified by the report as well as officers active in areas across the whole of Scotland.

Among the aims of the network, as expressed by its members, is that it provide a source of continuous professional learning and development for Gaelic Officers. Opportunities for this are being explored and range from members sharing their own experiences to inviting guest speakers from other minority language communities to share best practice. The Scottish Government will continue to support Bòrd na Gàidhlig in its administration of this network and recognises its importance in ensuring co-operation and the sharing of ideas within the wider field of Gaelic development. Among other things, it will play a key role in the implementation of the Scottish Languages Bill.

3.3.2 Adequate childcare services should be available in Key Gaelic Communities, with appropriate Gaelic medium training for playleaders, through foundation apprenticeships and other means, in immersion methods to ensure as many parents as wish to are available to work, as well as acting as a feeder to Gaelic medium education.

The Scottish Government accepts this recommendation.

Local authorities currently have a statutory duty to provide funded early learning and childcare for 3-4 year olds. They must also consult parents and carers every two years to ensure that local models of early learning and childcare meet their needs. The Scottish Languages Bill introduces two amendments to improve the provision of Gaelic medium early learning and childcare. The Education (Scotland) Act 2016 will be amended so that its process for assessing Gaelic medium primary education also covers Gaelic medium early learning and childcare. The Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014 will also be amended to require local authorities to include Gaelic medium early learning and childcare in their biannual assessments of local early learning and childcare needs.

A national online portal for early learning and childcare resources has been developed by the Scottish Government. This will provide a single point of access for quality assured ELC resources. The Scottish Government and Bòrd na Gàidhlig – working alongside stakeholders such as Stòrlann – will ensure Gaelic medium resources are available through the portal and encourage its use by stakeholders.

Bòrd na Gàidhlig has also recently published a report on the national picture for Gaelic medium ELC. This will be part of the evidence base considered by the Scottish Government and our stakeholders as we act on this recommendation.

3.3.3 Public sector roles in Key Gaelic Communities should be designated, as far as possible, as Gaelic essential, particularly those which align with key sectors offering maximum economic and social potential for Gaelic. This Gaelic essential designation should extend to recruitment for any island-based public sector role undertaken remotely.

The Scottish Government accepts this recommendation.

The goals identified are ones which will be worked towards by several measures. Within the Scottish Languages Bill, Scottish Ministers will be required to prepare a Gaelic Language Strategy. The Strategy will emphasise proportionate delivery. Proportionate delivery will include, for example, consideration of the extent to which public bodies can incorporate Gaelic in their recruitment processes. Gaelic Language Plans already contain recruitment commitments for relevant public authorities. The Gaelic Language Strategy will build on progress which has been achieved so far under successive National Gaelic Language Plans.

3.3.4 Entrepreneurial training and awareness of relevant elements of language planning should be offered to Gaelic organisations and third-sector bodies such as community and heritage trusts, as well as the network of Gaelic Development Officers, to ensure they are better supported and adequately equipped to realise economic and social opportunities at the community level.

The Scottish Government accepts this recommendation.

The Gaelic Officers network outlined under recommendation 3.3.1 offers such training and awareness to Gaelic Development Officers. Its membership includes employees of Gaelic organisations and third-sector bodies such as community and heritage trusts. This provides the framework for acting on this recommendation.

This network is at an early stage. As explained above, training and continuous professional development for officers are among its key aims. The entrepreneurial training and language planning awareness identified here will be incorporated as part of that. The network, in turn, will serve as a means by which organisations within Gaelic communities are supported and equipped to realise the economic and social opportunities for Gaelic which exist within their communities.

This will form a key part of the enhanced system of Gaelic language planning which the Scottish Languages Bill is introducing.

3.3.5 Opportunities should be developed for the provision of Gaelic medium training and service delivery in the Health and Social Care Sector, which has the potential for significant economic impact, particularly in island and rural communities, in addition to linguistic and wellbeing benefits. This could start in schools through an expansion of Foundation Apprenticeships delivered in Gaelic, already available in childcare and media in a small number of schools.

The Scottish Government accepts this recommendation.

The Key Gaelic Communities identified within the report fall within either NHS Western Isles or NHS Highland. In their Gaelic Language Plans the two health boards recognise the importance of Gaelic as both an important skill in the workplace and community and one which is of emotional benefit to patients who can receive their health and social care in their first language. Each plan also contains commitments to develop the level of Gaelic among its staff to ensure these advantages are realised. NHS Western Isles recognises its role in “strengthening the Gaelic labour market” through its recruitment processes. NHS Highland aims to work with Skills Development Scotland and Sabhal Mòr Ostaig to develop Gaelic pathways to health and social care qualifications. The Scottish Government will support this work through the appropriate workstreams and fora.

Within both NHS Western Isles and NHS Highland are initiatives which provide evidence for the benefit of incorporating Gaelic into the delivery of health and social care. To take one example, the West Highland branch of Alzheimer Scotland has, for several years now, made use of Gaelic in their work – most notably in their Gaelic conversation groups. This initiative enables Gaelic speakers living with dementia to engage with their first language – one to which many of them revert due to the impact of their condition. The project also incorporates local Gaelic medium primary schools in Portree and Lochaber – enabling pupils to develop their language skills in conversation with older native speakers. Alzheimer Scotland have rightly been praised for this work – most notably through their success in winning the Community Award at the Scottish Gaelic Awards in 2021. It provides an example of how health and social care initiatives and educational programmes can work together for both community and educational benefit while simultaneously strengthening Gaelic. Within such work is a vision of how Gaelic can be used for the benefit of the Health and Social Care sector across the report’s Key Gaelic Communities.

3.3.6 Support should be available for communities to create or acquire assets which offer spaces which would generate economic activity and enable greater social use of Gaelic, or to access existing spaces such as community schools.

The Scottish Government accepts this recommendation.

In the Report, the members of the group identified three Scottish Government supported projects for the economic and cultural benefits they brought their local communities: Sabhal Mòr Ostaig in Sleat, Cnoc Soilleir in South Uist, and Ionad Chaluim Chille Ìle. The report also acknowledged the short-term economic benefits these building based projects brought through construction and maintenance jobs. These three examples provide case studies in how the Scottish Government can work towards this recommendation.

That Gaelic has served as an economic asset in its own right is among the key arguments of the Report. It is a point amply demonstrated by the three examples above as well as Gaelic initiatives in other areas of life such as broadcasting. This principle has also informed the Scottish Languages Bill and the duties it places on Scottish Ministers and public authorities to consider Gaelic in exercising their functions. Outwith government initiatives, private efforts such as that of An Taigh Cèilidh in Stornoway provided other examples which can be drawn upon.

Among the actions of the Rural and Islands Housing Action Plan is to build upon community capacity and knowledge of the Asset Transfer process. The Scottish Government, working alongside the other bodies named for this recommendation, will pursue a similar action in relation to the creation or acquisition of community assets.

3.3.7 As far as possible within the public appointments process, there should be a mechanism for the positive recruitment of local, Gaelic-speaking residents to the boards of public bodies and other committees whose activities affect Key Gaelic Communities.

The Scottish Government accepts this recommendation.

Appointments to the Boards of bodies are regulated by the Ethical Standards Commissioner. The appointments are scrutinised by the Commissioner and follow the Code of Practice for Ministerial Appointments to Public Bodies in Scotland. The Code is supported by a handbook of statutory guidance which is intended to facilitate both the implementation and the understanding of the Code.

Scottish Ministers are responsible for making fair and open appointment decisions based on the merit of the people who apply. Merit is defined by Ministers for each board position to be filled and is based on that board’s specific needs at the time of, and anticipated period for, that appointment and only those that are judged most able to meet the requirements will be appointed. Scottish Ministers value very highly the benefits of having different experience and points of view on Boards and are keen that people from all walks of life apply for public appointments.

For each regulated appointment round, Scottish Ministers delegate responsibility to a selection panel which then draws together an agreed appointment plan, application and assessment methods, and an outreach strategy. The selection panel, as part of their discussions, will determine if the Board requires specific skills and experience which may include local, Gaelic-speaking residents on the board. This may be appropriate for those public bodies whose activities affect Key Gaelic Communities.

In recent years, appointments to the Boards of Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited (CMAL), David MacBrayne Limited (DML), Highlands and Islands Airports Limited (HIAL), Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) and Bòrd na Gàidhlig (BnG) have involved extensive outreach work to ensure that Gaelic speakers and/or those living in rural and island communities are targeted with information about relevant appointments. As an example, the Cabinet Secretary for Transport wrote recently to a range of organisations and bodies in Gaelic speaking rural and island communities encouraging them to apply for Non-Executive Director roles on the Board of CMAL. Similar letters, from Ministers or officials, have been issued in the past encouraging applicants for roles on a number of Boards including DML and HIAL. As a further example, for a number of years, Ministers have agreed that for HIE board appointments, a proportion of those appointed must have a very close affinity and understanding of the issues impacting on the Highlands and Islands and of the opportunities to support economic and community development across the region. For the most recent round, Ministers agreed that one of the two appointees must live, work, study or invest in the Highlands and Islands. There was also a strong preference that the second candidate also lived, worked, studied or invested in the Highlands and Islands. Finally, for appointments to BnG, those appointed must be Gaelic speakers who can articulate their views with confidence in public discussion online, and in face-to face meetings and gatherings. Board Members are expected to be committed ambassadors for the Gaelic language and advocates for Bòrd na Gàidhlig, willing to engage with Gaelic communities across the whole of Scotland.

3.3.8 Consideration should be given to the further potential of Settlement Officers - who facilitate people moving to, and living in, island communities - to promote the importance of the language in Key Gaelic Communities, as well as resettling people at various transition points.

The Scottish Government accepts this recommendation.

The Scottish Government, local authorities and the Convention of the Highlands and Islands Population Working Group intend to continue working together to support current Community Settlement Officers and will undertake a review of the potential benefits of this approach in building partnerships between public, private and community sectors. The importance of language can also be scoped for future inclusion in roles as part of CoHI’s increased consideration of the link between language and housing.

Under the Addressing Depopulation Action Plan, the formation of a semi-formal network of Community Settlement Officers as part of an Addressing Depopulation Delivery Group, including new roles in other parts of Scotland facing depopulation, has been announced. Other aspects of the Addressing Depopulation Action Plan, including in relation to physical and digital infrastructure, access to public services, and supporting local economies, will support outcomes for Gaelic speakers, as a result of the place-based overlap where these interventions will be delivered.

The Scottish Government's independent Expert Advisory Group on Migration and Population includes one Group member, Professor Philomena de Lima, who specialises in social research relating to indigenous communities. As initially highlighted in the Addressing Depopulation Action Plan, the Expert Advisory Group is in the process of finalising a commission which will review and summarise existing data and literature, identifying gaps in relation to the mobilities/migration of young people and adults (16-40 years of age) in rural Scotland, through the lens of a ‘life course’ approach. This piece of work will include a component on Gaelic communities and the Action Plan commits the Expert Advisory Group to “scope future research about the ways in which Gaelic language and culture and its close association with land, places of learning and socio-economic opportunities can help towards retention of young people.” These will be taken forward in due course, and will additionally support Community Settlement Officers and the delivery of other interventions, in the implementation of this recommendation.

3.3.9 Guidance from the Scottish Government on proposals for the introduction of Local Place Plans should consider a designation of Areas of Linguistic Sensitivity where policy intervention may be required to support and strengthen Gaelic with the development and strengthening of community agency and participation a primary aim.

The Scottish Government notes this recommendation.

The measure within the Scottish Languages Bill for designating Areas of Linguistic Significance has been informed by the report of the Short Life Working Group. It is designed with the aim of enabling policy interventions which both strengthen Gaelic and improve the role of communities in developing and implementing policy. The Scottish Languages Bill and the structures which it puts in place will therefore be the means by which the aims of this recommendation are pursued.

3.3.10 The legal requirement for Island Community Impact Assessments should ensure linguistic impacts are properly considered, and a good practice guide should be available on undertaking community consultation in a way sensitive to the needs of Gaelic in the context of Local Place Plans.

The Scottish Government accepts this recommendation.

The current guidance on Island Community Impact Assessments emphasises the importance of considering Gaelic in policy development. Guidance highlights the potential which public authorities in island areas have to support Gaelic across their operations, the importance of including Gaelic speaker figures in data collection and of engaging island communities in Gaelic. This guidance can be updated in future to strengthen the provision it makes for Gaelic and the linguistic needs of island communities.

The Scottish Government’s Gaelic Language Plan is an additional document which reinforces the emphasis placed upon Gaelic in policy development. Directorates across the Scottish Government are represented on the Gaelic Language Plan’s implementation group. This group emphasises i) the need to consider the linguistic impact of policy development and implementation across the organisation and ii) the need to consider Gaelic’s potential as an asset in meeting wider policy goals. Progress has been seen here – ranging from an increase in government materials being issued in Gaelic, engagement with Gaelic stakeholders or explicit consideration of Gaelic within policy documents.

However, it is recognised that work remains to be done. The Scottish Government looks forward to progressing this recommendation through the means outlined.