"Give Scots and Gaelic equal status" says MSP

West of Scotland MSP Dr Bill Wilson has called on the Scottish Government to make representations to the United Kingdom Government to give speakers of Scots and Gaelic the same rights as it gives to speakers of Welsh an English.

In a supplementary question to his question on the European Chairter of Regional an Minority Leids (ECRML) last Thursday, Dr Wilson poined out that it is possible to get printed material from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) in Welsh and English, but not Scots or Gaelic. This is because the DWP is obliged to provide the service in Welsh under the Welsh Language Act 1993, but there is no similar provision on Scotland’s two indigenous language.

The Minister for Europe, External Affairs and Culture, Linda Fabiani MSP, agreed to make such representations.

Dr Wilson is a member of the Scottish Parliament’s Equal Opportunities Committee and its Cross-Party Group on the Scots Language. He recently undertook a survey of local councils’ attitudes to the use of Scots in education.

Bill Wilson’s queistions and the Minister’s answers: http://tinyurl.com/64v2xk
Bill Wilson’s press release on the issue: http://tinyurl.com/678lj2
SLC’s pages about the ECRML: http://tinyurl.com/6gyk6e