Question in Scots Makes Parliament History

History was made in the Scottish Parliament on Thursday 7 January when an SNP MSP became the first person to ask a parliamentary question and a follow-up question in Scots.

Western Isles MSP Alasdair Allan, who was well known as a Scots activist before capturing the Hebridean seat for the SNP, asked the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning what the Government would do to ensure that every secondary school pupil had access to Scottish literature.

In his follow-up question, Mr Allan asked about the success of compulsory questions on Scottish literature in exams.

Oral parliamentary questions must be lodged and asked in English, but MSPs are allowed to ask a question in another language if they repeat it in English. Mr Allan has previously asked questions in Gaelic, but this is the first time that he has used Scots in this context. His follow-up question was not repeated in English.

Read the questions and the Cabinet Secretary's response here.