Early day motion · EDM 2401 · 1 Dec 2025

Gaelic and Scots recognised as official languages

Tabled by Mr Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat) 15 signatures

The motion

That this House welcomes the commencement of the Scottish Languages Act 2025 on St Andrew’s Day, which formally recognises Gaelic and Scots as official languages of Scotland; notes that the Act introduces new measures to strengthen language education, expand qualifications available in Gaelic, and support the creation of areas of linguistic significance to help target policies for language growth; further notes that the legislation enables research into the use of Gaelic and Scots and provides a framework for maintaining high teaching standards; recognises the cultural and historical importance of both languages to communities across Scotland; and observes that the most recent census recorded 130,161 people with some Gaelic skills and 2,444,659 with some Scots skills, both significant increases since 2011.