7. To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to grow and encourage primary Gaelic-medium education. (S6O-01442)

The Scottish Government is committed to supporting the growth of Gaelic-medium education across Scotland. We are working with a number of local authorities that wish to start or grow their Gaelic provision. Those local authorities, along with others, will continue to benefit from our funding streams, the Gaelic-specific grant and the Gaelic capital fund.

Gaelic is thriving not just in Scotland but across the world. There has been a 72 per cent increase in interest in Scottish Gaelic-related content over the past few years, and more than a million people have taken a Gaelic course in the language learning app Duolingo.

How important is it that action is taken to ensure a sustainable future for the language that is such an important part of our heritage and our cultural identity?

I am very pleased to see the growing interest in Gaelic that has arisen through activities such as Duolingo. That is why the Scottish Government has supported the SpeakGaelic multiplatform learning project, which has around 5,000 users a month. The platform will enable those who start their learning journey on Duolingo to reach fluency.

It is very important that action is taken to ensure a sustainable future for Gaelic, and for that reason the Government will continue to support a wide range of activities in that area. Further evidence of our support is demonstrated in the ambitious commitments that we are currently consulting on. I encourage all members to encourage their constituents across the country to get involved in that consultation, to ensure that we do everything that we can to support the Gaelic language and, indeed, the Scots language in Scotland.