Growing Scotland’s languages

30 Nov 2025 03:41 PM

Provisions to grow languages come into force.

The Gaelic and Scots languages have gained official status as people across Scotland celebrate St Andrew’s Day.

The designation forms part of a range of measures that come into effect yesterday through the Scottish Languages Act 2025.

These include powers for ministers to commission research into the use of Gaelic and Scots and establish teaching standards for the languages.   

Other measures of the Act include:

• empowering parents to ask for a Gaelic school to be established in their area
• supporting the creation of areas of linguistic significance in Gaelic communities so that ministers can better target policies to support the language’s growth
• enabling parents in every part of Scotland to apply for Gaelic nursery and early years places for their children
• ensuring that more qualifications are available in Gaelic
• introducing targets on the number of people speaking and learning Gaelic

Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes yesterday said:

"St Andrew's Day is a fitting time to celebrate Scotland's identity by recognising Gaelic and Scots as official languages. This is a historic milestone which acknowledges the vital place these languages hold in Scotland's culture and heritage.

"This has been made possible through the Scottish Languages Bill which received unanimous support from MSPs.

"To support the continued growth of both languages the Scottish Government has already allocated £35.7 million for Gaelic and Scots initiatives this year, ensuring that this milestone translates into meaningful change for communities across the country.”

Background

The Scottish Languages Bill was introduced on St Andrew’s Day in 2023. The Bill was passed in June and received Royal Assent on 1 August 2025.

The first set of commencement regulations, the legal instrument by which sections of the Scottish Languages Act become law, were laid before the Scottish Parliament on Thursday 13 November 2025. These first set of regulations brought into force a range of sections of the Act yesterday (30 November 2025), including provisions that grant official status to Gaelic and Scots. A full list of the sections being commenced can be read online.  Other provisions within the Scottish Languages Act will become law through a planned programme of implementation.

The Act is available online.

Census statistics show that 130,161 people in Scotland had some Gaelic skills in 2022, an increase of 43,105 from 2011. The census shows that 2,444,659 people in Scotland had some Scots skills in 2022, an increase of 515,215 from 2011.