 SCONDILG FFFM. I am to remind members about social distancing. Re measures are in place in the chamber across the Holyrood campus. When members are moving around they should take care to observe those measures. Only use aisles in what ways to access your seat and when moving around the chamber. The final item of business is a members' business debate on motion 166 in the name of Alan on-Languagewd plan 2023-2028. Felly, mae'r ddigle i—yurfer, mae'r ddigle i gwelliwyrdau a ddydd yn ysgolio i ofnogol o'r mamlu cyffredinol sydd eisiau cysylltiadau y symbol-y-glu'i cyffredinol, y member o fynt cysylltu sydd eisiau cyffredinol, mae'r ddigle i'r symbol-y-glu'i cyffredinol. Felly, ddydd hynny'n chi'n cyfio i gaeli, wrth gweithio ydw i'r ddigle i'r ddigle o'r I call on Alistair Allan to open the debate up to seven minutes please. O ffigur ddiw li, ha'r tor mae'r ddaf i'r tachos yn yswun lle gaelig ffun awm sy'n jech ag'n lle gaelig i'r ddech chi eisiau chyfl eisiau ffarn o'r ddaf i'r yswcoeg. A bwysi allu pa acen nhw, ha'r ffolwm trymau'n lle gaelig i dfaas, a'r polisi i'n gaelig i'n mynd i'ch byw i'n pobloch yn ysw, siwgus a arian agelig, yn anus eu culta o'r gallun lle ar gyfer yr olym cyho. Kaudfast. O'r gaelig byw yn elu y gŵith gennym, ac caw sin i ddigon o archwylouvech ddaf i rhaib hon fath ar y part iawn gyfel re+, a phemol, ac jakoad yn caen tyfn, siau byw yn phartu Υ anunciach panuits neidio am y ddroff焔, ac soort o dziw. Gwsgyddofus mi rŵn a llwg i negalic yn hoch gwych yn symun yn nhw'n hawm goawm, hanog cwntas yn biac y shelters gyfel teichnes lateru yn y malupe, gyda negalic yn gywser fawr un ffeirio yn y ddaish. Roedd ynglyn â'r ffaernamwyig ar gyfer y chyfnno satu o'r mddang到了. Wrth gael ag yn y meddwl yn cyfngod, cael cwtrimwch yn agi'ch o'r triwbl yn cwydoch. Hath taic yn ymwntwch sy'r cwtych yw'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gaelig, ac hath gyan taic ychws na unr, fe meddwl i y brian gaelig, y cwtych, ac ys hyn a chi'n loch o'r athgyrchu'n ac yswych i'n ffordd y fyrdi'r comyswch y llehau chi i'r nhw. I gan nhw awm, scefael yw i'n sy'n gaelig y ffaith, hath criw nhw'ch clech gweithio'r gaelig yn snesgu'r yn elenwch a ffaith nesmysau am eu gymadol i'ch eraill. Mae sy'n ffordd o'ch bod ar eich yswych i'r fath torllt sŵl iddyn twych o'ch yn snesgu'r yn ennill i'r enllun o'ch chi'n hwn o'ch ysgyrru, neu sy'n i'n enllun o'ch chi'n ffordd o'ch chi'n ffordd o'ch chi'n nesgu'r yn sy'n cyddiw. Hath i meddwl i ddweud i'ch gymuned o'ch tron o'r rŵtimans yn adysg mi'n statiwn i'r ailig am ysgu'r niogau yn snesgu'r yn ennill, maen nhw'n y biach yn y fawr i'n goryn, coi osnoch, ac mae'n mysiau cwmel yn ysgweithio i. Fath dwylai'r geriffwg yn eim eich polisi yn gael i gahanos frygyr i chi o'r tron o'r coi osnoch yn traddusiwntau, ac mae'n gatchi'ch nhw'n gyfer y hawn mae'r eich ymblir i'r polisi o'r sgol ac o'r polisi o'r elen. Am eu tolu sy'n gyfel bod yn gael i chi'n ganych o'r rŵtyn sy'n cwtioch, yn ofryg yr a chgyn nhw, a'r gwybodd gyso'r i chi o'r sgol yn coi osnoch yn elen nhw. Mae'n cytrwynt o'r ffordd yw y cwmwys pan oedd ynddo i wneud i'r clech o'r gael i'r ffeiydd. Daerwch eich gael i'r gael, mae'n angen i ychydig yn ychydig o'r ffordd o'r ffeiydd i chi o'r gael i'r elen nhw. Rydw i chi mws eich mysio eich gael i chi o'r gael i chi o'r elen nhw, ac yn ynglosiw. ac oes nhw'n gael i'r bywyl yn y balch yn môr, ac mae'n gael i'r gael i'r gael i'r cwtrymwch yn y cianon. Femio sy'n yw'n ymlaen o'r cwytio'r cyta, mae'n byw'r dyfyrau, mae'n byw'r canons yn byw a'n los statio allan, mae'n byw i'r gartio'ch yn iawn ffyrry'n byw'ch yn canons sy'n edrych gwych i ddaintradd yn sefw. Si'n ffordd fel yn cwrnodd eig yn ychawn yn sy'n hynny'n. A'r corom ac i'n un ish, nes y flannau na sy'n teur ac i'n rutech yn ei unwf, a i'n anffcyntio'ch na'ch el brosnychwch yn y gael i'ch gyddiwch mwy ein cyfiet niach i gyfel y gael i'ch cyfiet a ha'r gychlech gwych. Femio sy'n y fysy i'r chanwr un dob ffors na'r gael i'ch, nôl na'r sgolci yn gael i'ch, gael i'ch a'ch hawl ag nannwn ar, gyda'ch o mas y ha yn uppyr ha'r y llyth y dgynwf. Chaw fie'r gyfer, nôl a'r resente yn ddlest yn y sy'n ochr o'r arra. Be dyw'n i gythrych gybrion mwy osgys yn y syrfa sy'n trefiau yn y gael i'ch. A'r un sy'n ochr na'ch byw dyny sy'n byw ffaenio'ch mwy ein cosgys yn syrfa sy'n pobloch trefiau yn y bêrlau, nôl a'r tych sy'n greu sy'n chwychus fod yn y syrfa sy'n a hawn yw'n yn sy'n hynny'n hyn. Ha'n mynd i achi yw'ch syrfa sy'n i'ch yn rhoi'n pobloch, syrfa sy'n slantio yn y mesc. A'is ym jeffiwch e'r peper na'i ochr yn y gael ag rha mwyensu, yn ymbyn y gennyf y mach yn gyw, gyda'n rwtys cwtrym i chi a hawn nôl sy'n syrfa sy'n slantio yn drafst y hein stach yn y gael i'ch. A'ch un sy'n mynd yn sydol siach iddyn nhw'n dwi'n mysiau yn jagi cofyd ac yn syrfa sy'n trefiau yn y gael i'ch, ac mae'n corth iddyn nhw'n sy'n glannu. Rwteg yn elu a hynny'r cyllwch, a coi'n i ac yn syrfa sy'n gresio gyda'ch y byd i'n i'ch gwych i gyn, a fana fawl idd bo'r slantio a chy'n yn cael mwy tŵ yn y halopau. Rwy'n sioddiwm sy'n sy'n sy'n sy'n gael yn elu. Gyd ychysgais gyfel planau gaelig ac yn yma'r bo'r slantio, chen i elu sy'n y cilwch i chi i chi gyfel yn bo'r naffarch, ond oes yn byw, gyda'n nhw'n hoi'r pyn a hadduwn i'r gennyf gysigau i'ch cwm ylbio. Mae'r corom ac yn i'ch lebyl yw'r mych anun yn y halopau, byach yn myr sy'n ychwyr hiarst. Y gennyfsoi'r gyfel atio i'ch y hulio bwy yn fobloch yn sy'n yw'r pysyn, gysori'ch gyda'n sy'n ysguid yn ffarae fel y gael i'ch loatio'r haest. Si'n gael i'ch e'n fens drimwg mae'r canasiat. Mae'r amfarch sy'n y cilwch rwds yn byw ha'u cilwch yn byw sy'n ysmuwn i'ch mae'r ffordd yma'ch mynd i'n yn y bwy a hech, yn y polisiyn yw'r ac yn i'r stach yn y gaelig. Chyn amgyddwch polisiyn mwy hultyr nhw ffordd, ac polisiyn e'r tethys driwch yn ys economi sydd gyda'r. Gyn byw sy'n ysmuwn i'ch mynd i'ch mynd i'r mynd yn y bwy a hech, yn y polisiyn sy'n y ddigael i'ch nhw'r y haes sy'n y gennyf mesu yn bwy o impact assessments os rwy'n ynghylch. Mae'r coryn maen nhw yn sefyllu'r yw'r yw'r tocle ydyn nhw'n opu'r bod dda fel y sy'n coig, ac ysgwytio'ch rwnt i'r un yw os rwy'n allu'ch, nopi o'r galt yng nghan yn marrill ac ymsym. Chyn i'r gaelig y gys allu'ch i'r ffyn yterialwch chi yw'ch eilu yn sy'n tri achu. Hala yn hi ddion gyro si'n ychydig arall i'n anulos mwy yn allu'ch, gyda'u fel y nabiach yn sy'n och gwygon o ffwllwm sy'n amen nhw ar trys yn bielu. O ffordd, rwy'n ei chyn gwych gwybwng nhw, mae'r ham i'ch amenochus cymru y hulwb o'r parlymyd, ac ysgwytio'ch chi yn y bwyl yw'r ysgwytio, ac mae'n gawel mwy o'r gweithio i'r gweithio'ch beth o'r hoffi'r yn gaelig yn sy'n ffordd o'r parlymyd i'r gaelig. Rwy'n gafosio'n corm, rwy'n gweithio'n gweithio'ch mewn, rwy'n gweithio'ch allu'n gweithio'n un sy'n och, ac mae'n gweithio'ch gwyllwch sy'n gwylltio'n gwylltio'n gwylltio'n hast tenants cymru da et shackwздig o'i fenythu a gwyl ada chi oith hyn sydd wedi ar gweithio'i ac matech gaelig nyfg I welcome this opportunity to speak in this debate on the National Gallic Language Plan, and I thank my colleague Alasdair Allan for tabling that motion. My constituency, Argyllun Bute, land of the gales, has the motto of Shays Air Corps, maintain our rights. That is exactly what I believe the National Gallic Language Plan and forthcoming Scottish language bills should be doing. I grew up on the east coast of Scotland and was introduced to Gallic by my hill-climbing father. Drish, my first-man row, the Thornbush or Bramble, Cairngorm, the Blue Cairn, Benny Hone, the Mossy hill. Neither of us had Gallic, but the descriptive names of the hills and mountains that we climbed embedded in me a connection of landscape and language. Cair is Chenga, a programme that my colleague Alasdair starred in, if I remember correctly. Throughout my almost 20 years at BBC Scotland, the constant thread was Gallic. I supported Gallic programme makers as they created a wealth of output for the audience, for example Janish, Yorpa, Cyniwch Mawr and Mod. Programmes on radio and on television, giving gales of all ages a voice and giving Scotland programmes from a Gael Tach perspective. What I learnt while at BBC Scotland, and even more so now, living on Islay, is the rich array of Gallic dialects across Scotland. Islay is famous for its good whisky, or Ushgebeia me, whereas on Lewis it would be Ushgebeia ma. On Islay, A is E, and this is the same in other areas of the Gael Tach. Mainland Argyll Gallic is different again, but with similarities to Islay Gallic. Biel Heinch was a fantastic series that celebrated the variations across the Gael Tach, and those differences should be invested in, retained and supported. The motion notes that Gallic is in a precarious position in vernacular communities across Scotland, and it is. In my home village of Port Sguiba, or Port Charlotte, very few houses in the old village are occupied as permanent homes. I know a number of young people who have moved away because of the difficulty of getting onto the housing ladder. Mull and Iona community trust have just built two family homes, which were hugely oversubscribed. The Open Times recently had a prominent article on the difficulty of local people or incoming key workers being able to acquire property, whereas Glasgow, as Allister was saying, is looking at opening a third and fourth Gallic school. The Gallic school in Inverness is full to capacity, and Edinburgh is consulting on a new dedicated Gallic school. No matter how much valuable work Bordna Gallic does, it is working in an economic climate that sadly drives out young gales to the cities. It could be described as the economic clearances, but here we have an opportunity to use Gallic and other Scots languages as economic stimulus. Give our wealth of languages and dialects to Scotland, to the brand treatment, to encourage folk to learn and use them, so not only eat local, but speak local. Schools across our Gailin butte are providing pathways for learners and fluent speakers, and we need to encourage primary schools to teach Gallic and connect the older generations with the younger ones using language as the glue. Gallic is one of Scotland's natural resources. The 2016 Visit Scotland visitor survey found that, with no prior promotion, 34 per cent of responders felt that Gallic as a national language enhanced their visit to Scotland. Visit Scotland has built on this lure of language from visitors and launched its first Gallic toolkit to help tourist businesses to develop their Gallic offering. I look forward to working with communities and other organisations to shape the next national Gallic language plan to ensure that solutions across the Gailin butte are found to maintain the land, the language and the people. I am very grateful to Alasdair Allan for securing the debate, especially this early in the new session of Parliament, which highlights the urgency of many of the issues raised by him and no doubt by others. In the last session, there were several MSPs of all political stripes who were at the forefront of standing up for the Gallic language and culture, including Alasdair Allan, Rhoda Grant, John Finnie and others. I am sure that new MSPs will be equally energetic—we have just heard from Jenny Minto, for example. In the short time, I want to highlight first and foremost that we are in an emergency situation. The social report referred to in the motion of last year made that clear. One of the points that it makes is that, although a lot of people in the vernacular communities are able to speak Gallic, they are not using it as much as we might expect, so there is no time to lose and that is a theme that I will return to. There have been a plethora of interesting proposals that have been put forward recently in terms of Gallic. I welcome the work of the board and the Gallic in beginning its consultation on the next plan and, indeed, the on-going contributions from other groups, including Fation and Gail, Common Gailoch, MG Alibur, Soil Morostig and many others. However, could I repeat this? We must act swiftly and effectively. I am a slightly nervous about setting up new organisations or new agencies, institutions and so on, not because of the laudable aims behind forming such bodies, but mainly because of the time that it takes to consult on and set up such organisations, given that we have so little time to lose. However, as Alasdair Allan's motion notes, the social report identified the social use and transmission of Gallic is at the point of collapse, with the numbers of Gallic speakers falling considerably over time. With that said, I note the comments that have been made by several academics, including Professor Rob Dunbar, Professor Wilson McLeod and others, that it is important to focus not just on the communities in the report that have around a quarter of Gallic speakers, but on other communities too. Arthur Cormack, who is well known to many of us, states that there are many types of Gallic communities beyond the vernacular communities. The point is that this is not just about one type of Gallic community set against another. We have to address the needs of all those communities. One area that deserves focus is the media. Investment in Gallic media should be improved. We see around £20 million being spent on Gallic television and radio annually, and MG Alibow has consistently argued for greater resources, comparatively, the total budget for the Welsh-speaking channel S4C in the last year was just over £95 million. Clearly, that is an area that should be looked at. The Scottish Scotland's Futures Forum reports that we must recognise that young people and children increasingly get their content from social media and streaming sites rather than traditional media, and that should also be looked at by Government as part of a wider media strategy. There is some optimism. We cannot forget the welcome growth of learner and first language Gallic speakers in Scotland's urban areas, and also the significant number of people learning Gallic via apps like Duolingo. There are many positive stories. I was taken by the academics view that one of the ways of enhancing spaces for the language to be used are creation of physical spaces such as the Gallic language centres and that they have an important role to play in. Looking more longer term, it has been argued that the act could be strengthened and that reforms could be considered, mentioned by Alistair Allen. Above all, an economic revival underpins a Gallic revival, and that was a point made forcibly by Jenny Minter just now. We have to look at housing and health and the local economy and connectivity and transport connections, etc. However, in conclusion, there is a lot more that I would like to say. If there is one message that the new cabinet secretary—I welcome her to her role in terms of Gallic within her portfolio—is that the task of revitalising Gallic is very urgent and there is no time to lose. I now call Rhoda Grant, who is joining us remotely. Up to four minutes, please. It is timely given the work that is taking place to consult and draft the new national plan for Gallic. While there are disagreements about how we protect and increase Gallic's speaking in our communities, I believe that much of that stems from a real frustration regarding the decline of the language. That is not to say that the actions are wrong, but there have to be many, many more interventions at every level, and there has to also be a step change in support. I ask all those with an interest to promote and protect Gallic to set aside their differences and use their best endeavours to protect and grow the language. We need an ambitious plan. I see colleagues in Wales regularly legislating on Gallic reviewing, renewing, setting new and challenging targets. Here in Scotland, the Government seems to ignore and under fund. The board has faced a cut in real terms of over 30 per cent of their budget in the last decade. In the 22 years of this Parliament, we have legislated only once. In 15 years of SNP Government, we have done nothing but cut funding. The Government also acts in a silo to ignore the fact that Gallic is dying because Gallic-speaking communities are dying, and often that is at their hand, centralising jobs away from the vernacular communities. How many Gallic-speaking families will be taken from the Western Isles by the ill-advised Scottish Government plan to centralise air traffic control to Inverness? To survive, those communities need jobs, homes and access to Gallic education and the ability to speak the language in everyday life. Government and their agencies must enable interaction to happen in Gallic and to ensure that that is the first language of interaction in the vernacular communities. They must expand these communities in line with investment and language. Both science and branding are all good and well, but they do nothing to develop one more Gallic speaker. In the Western Isles and the Gallic-speaking areas in the west of Scotland, the Government must ensure that education and public interaction is in Gallic. They must fund the board adequately to allow them to carry out their role, but they must also empower them to do that. A review and renewal of the Gallic language act is now urgently required to enable that to happen. However, the development of Gallic does not fall to the board alone. Councils, Government and agencies need to step up and take leadership. If we do not, Gallic will be lost as a language for daily communication. This has already happened in huge swath of Scotland, leading to the loss of culture, history and heritage. We have to remember that the history of the common people is handed down through stories, poetry and songs, and all that is lost to the up-and-coming generation where the language is being lost. Yes, we need it in the classroom, but we also need it in the community. I urge the Government to look to Wales, to look to their ambition and to equal it. We need an overarching policy to also empower communities to take the lead and fund communities to lead that development. This is not a power struggle. We require everyone to do their bit to protect and expand the use of Gallic. It was the language of Scotland and, indeed, into the north of England as well. Our aim and our ambition must be to reinstate Gallic as the language at home, at work and at play—a language that has equal status to English. I now call Ariane Burgess, who is making her first speech to our Parliament. I thank Alice Drallon for bringing this important member's debate to the chamber on the national Gallic language plan. While I am aware that it has been a long day, if the Deputy Presiding Officer will allow me, as this is my first speech in the chamber as a recently elected MSP for the Highlands and Islands, I would like to take a few moments to thank everyone who campaigned with and voted for me, especially my partner, Eddie Couday, who continues to support me as I find my way in this new role. I want to thank my predecessor, John Finnie, who was a champion for Gallic and who did good work in this chamber. Among his many activities, the one that stands out for me is that he secured equal protection from assault for the children of Scotland with his equal protection members bill, which became an act in the last session. This last year has brought many challenges to our shores, none that we could have imagined and brought to light fragility across our society. It also brought out the best of the people across this country and in the Highlands and Islands and rekindled the community spirit that is still strong in the region as neighbours helped neighbours and communities found creative ways to ensure that everyone was looked after. I look forward to meeting, working with and representing people from all parts of the region, both as their MSP and the green spokesperson for communities, housing, land reform and rural affairs. I also want to declare an interest in this debate as a Gallic learner and anant to Anissa Neffey, who attended a Gallic medium school in Edinburgh. Tonight's debate is close to my heart. My great-grandfather, who was from Edinburgh, was a Gallic speaker, but I grew up without it and got the message not so much from my family, but from wider society that the language had no use. I now know that not to be the case. Like Jenny Minto, I experienced the language as something together and that the language opens the landscape for me. I will be as active as I can in this session to ensure that speakers, learners, educators and academics are given the support that is required to move the language to a stronger footing. One quarter of Gallic speakers live in various Hebridean communities within the Highlands and Islands, and Alistair Allyn's motion raises the grave concern of the precariousness of the language in those communities. The perspective that I want to bring to this debate is that, with the launch of Borschnigallic's consultation events on the national Gallic language plan and a promised Scottish languages bill to be brought forward in this session, we have a great opportunity to take the next steps to ensure that Gallic has a future that will be heard hundreds of years from today. To do that, we must recognise that Gallic is also vibrant in the lowlands, where approximately half of Gallic speakers live and have taken approaches to support the thriving of the language in all places where people speak it or are learning it. I am calling for a nuanced approach that we need to see that it is Scotland's language and has the right funding supports in place and the right resources as needed. As a Gallic learner, I have become part of a community of people from across Scotland and the world who take the role of learning seriously. Today, I heard from my Salom or Osteg course speaking partner that she plans to continue studying and hopes to find a place in a Gallic medium education school in Glasgow. She is originally from Europe. Another person that I have been learning with has decided to leave his stable career and take on learning Gallic full-time because he wants to be a carrier of the language. A third person, a young American, hopes to find his way to sky to study in depth. There is an outpouring of enthusiasm and interest for Gallic now and we must find ways to make it easier for people of all ages to access it. My sense is that Gallic at the moment is like a tiny little glowing ember in a fire. It is that moment for those of you who light fires where you are not quite sure whether that ember is going to take or just go out. We must absolutely grab this opportunity with this new language plan and Scottish languages and billets to come forward and fan the flames of the fire. During the campaign, what I learned is that while there is a lot of good—and we have heard about that from my colleagues in the chamber tonight—in place and a lot of people working to ensure Gallic's future, it is very fragile and delicate. I think that we need to support Gallic across the country and make sure that we support people in the creation of place because it is not just about the language, it is the culture, it is the community. We have the power to support people in that way. For example, in Edinburgh at the moment, the council is considering a location for a new GME high school. The SNP promised in its manifesto a centrally located site for the school. Right now, the council has been considering a location that is not centrally located. What I understand from my design and community work is that where you place buildings helps community to grow. If we create large space and make it difficult for people to travel across from the primary school to the high school, we are not creating the potential for that fire. When you build a fire, you need to put your twigs together so that the flame catches light and moves through the fire. We need to be looking at not just the education plans but also the buildings and the structures and how we bring people together to create that community that underpins the language. I look forward to working with my colleagues in this coming session to ensure that Gaelic will flourish and that we know and we can ensure that our descendants will be hearing it and speaking it in hundreds of years to come. I now call Stuart McMillan, who is joining us remotely, up to four minutes. First of all, I would like to congratulate Dr Arster Allen on securing this important debate. I know that it is an issue that is close to his heart as well as being vitally important for his constituency. I would also like to thank those who have provided the briefings for today's debate. I am going to focus my remarks on a constituency issue that has arisen within the past few weeks. Inverclyde has a Gaelic medium education unit at Winhill primary school in Greenock and the school came through to the Parliament in the last session to highlight the vast range of multilingual teaching that they undertake. The pupils themselves were a credit to the school and also to Inverclyde in addition to themselves. For many years, pupils could have had a place and request to the Glasgow Gaelic school for their secondary education. That has always been granted that that has become a problem this year due to the continual increasing demand for Gaelic medium education in Glasgow. Thankfully for the P7W pupils, they will be getting the secondary education at the Glasgow Gaelic school. As a letter from Professor Ogerlegan and Ian Campbell, and I apologise for the pronunciations from the University of the Highlands and Islands, clearly described, the actions of the Gaelic act have had positive outcomes. However, on a quote from the letter, the demand is now outstripping supply of experienced and competent teachers and inadequate Gaelic school infrastructure. I welcome the additional demand for primary school Gaelic education up 79 per cent. I welcome the additional demand for secondary school Gaelic education up 48 per cent. I would like more young people to have the opportunity, but it is clear that the situation facing the transition of secondary schools is now challenging. I have had positive dialogue with both Inverclyde council and Glasgow city council and I would like to thank them for that. I know that there is no quick solution, and as a newcomer to raising an issue affecting the Gaelic language, I realise that there are many challenges facing the long-term future of the language. I also realise that the relevant number of experienced and competent teachers are not currently available. However, it is clear that additional activity needs to be undertaken, to try and resolve this. I would like to highlight two questions that I would like the cabinet secretary to consider. First, what actions the Scottish Government is considering to aid local authorities with a tradition in primary Gaelic medium education to help them to provide suitable secondary Gaelic medium education if the demand from parents exists? Secondly, the demand from parents exists with the Scottish Government to help local authorities to provide secondary Gaelic medium education covering multiple authorities without the need for placing requests, i.e. in effect, something akin to a shared service routine local authorities. I accept that if there are positive opportunities to the two questions that I just posed, that the shortage of teachers, as has already been indicated, may still be prohibitive. However, notwithstanding that if local authorities were able to do this, with Government assistance, they may help them to medium term, that is why cross boundary demand secondary Gaelic medium education. I would also like to encourage anyone with an interest to get involved in the Bordna Gael's consultation events on the next national Gaelic language plan, even though I do not speak Gaelic but I studied French in Germany at school and also in university. I do appreciate how important language provision is to ensure that our country has the broadest possible outlook and opportunities for future generations. Inverclyde also has a rich Gaelic history, in regards to the people and traditions that came to Inverclyde in the past. I am keen to see that those traditions continue for many generations to come. Once again, I welcome the debate and thank Dr Allan for bringing it to the Parliament. Thank you, Ms McMillan. Our last speaker in the open debate will be Sarah Boyack. Up to four minutes, please. I too want to congratulate Alistair Allan for his success in securing this prized member's business slot. I agree that there is much to be proud of since the establishment of our Parliament in terms of a higher profile for the Gaelic language, for investment in Gaelic medium education and Gaelic broadcasting through Radio Nangale and BBC Alba. However, as Alistair Allan and other members have highlighted eloquently, last year's report was worrying as it concluded that, without radical action, Gaelic would be dead within a decade. Rhoda Grant and Jenny Minto made powerful speeches about the need for economic support in traditional Gaelic communities. I also want to thank the academics who have been in touch this week with their insight on what needs to be done now. I want to focus on the national Gaelic language plan and the consultation, and to highlight the current challenge in Edinburgh, the issue of supporting Gaelic medium education now and going forward. First, we need to ensure that we have enough Gaelic teachers so that Gaelic medium education can be delivered right across all topics, including maths and science. As Arian Burge has mentioned, the SNP election manifesto promised a new city centre school in Edinburgh. It caught people by surprise and it cut right across the current council plans for a new school at Liberton. Timing is critical because parents need to know that there is going to be capacity available in the city for Gaelic medium education going forward. The council is about to consult on its plans for the new Gaelic medium school at Liberton, two separate schools being managed by two head teachers. There is a challenge now because James Gillespie has an issue of capacity, hence the council's plans to increase capacity in the short term at Darrach. It will be interesting to hear from the cabinet secretary today for some clarity about the SNP manifesto proposal. Is it going to be dropped or promoted? What city centre site did they have in mind? Was it to be planned and funded centrally? It is crucial that we have the quality Gaelic medium education that our city needs and that we have support for the Gaelic language right across Scotland. I am glad that Alasdair Allan also mentioned the Scottish language. I was going to apologise and ask if I would sneak it in at the end of this debate. Our vice campaigners did not want to divert attention away from Alasdair's Gaelic language debate, but they wanted to use the opportunity of raising the issue for more being done by the Scottish Government in the context of the upcoming Scottish Languages Bill. Again, it would be helpful if the cabinet secretary would clarify what legislative measures the Government is considering on Scots alongside the important work that is raised right across the chamber for supporting our Gaelic language. I thank Dr Allan for bringing forward the motion today and welcome the opportunity to conclude this debate, my first opportunity within my new portfolio responsibilities, which includes Gaelic and Scots. I also congratulate Ariana Burgess for her first speech to Parliament and to welcome her here. I am sure that it will be the first of many on this and other important subjects. I look forward to being able to debate and to work with her over the coming years. At the outset, let me indicate my support for the motion and, in particular, the aim that public policy could and should do more to support and protect the Gaelic language. As the chamber is aware, the Scottish Government has never shied away from its responsibilities to promote and support Gaelic. Gaelic remains a priority for the Scottish Government, and our very clear aim is to see an increase in the number of speaking, learning and, very importantly, using the Gaelic language in Scotland. The national Gaelic language plan is in an important document in the support of the Gaelic language. It offers a framework for all public bodies to consider how their actions and policies impact on Gaelic language communities. Support for the Gaelic language is not just a task for the Government or for Bordna Gaelic. I think that we all recognise that a wide range of bodies can and do make a contribution to supporting Gaelic in many sectors. That must and will continue, and if possible, of course, we must encourage them to strengthen that work. I would like to offer the reassurance that the Scottish Government will play our part in the process. We have, as some people have mentioned already, an ambitious set of manifesto commitments, and we will do more for Gaelic in Scotland as we make progress with those commitments. Among those commitments for Gaelic, we will explore the creation of a recognised gael tach to raise the levels of language competence and use in the home and the community. I look forward to working with people across the chamber and, of course, much further afield to work on the details of how we can take that forward. We also recognise that help is needed to stem depopulation and we will establish an islands bond, offering 100 bonds of up to £50,000 to young people and families to stay in or to move to islands that are currently threatened by depopulation. The bonds will support people to buy homes, start businesses and otherwise make their lives for the long term in those communities. In addition, we will give local authorities the powers to manage the number of second homes in their area and we will work with community land Scotland so that we can find the right land to deliver more housing in our rural areas. Many speakers tonight have quite rightly mentioned the issue of education and, in our commitments, a new strategic approach to Gaelic medium education deals with many issues, but it also includes the issue that Stuart McMillan raised around the number of teachers that are available for Gaelic medium education. That is something that I am keen to work with members across the chamber as they will have their own local views on how that can best be taken forward in their different constituencies. Sarah Boyack and Darae Anabergis, as well, mentioned the issue of Gaelic medium education in Edinburgh. I understand that Edinburgh is planning the consultation to come forward on a site. That is the right thing to do. It is obliged to take consultation process forward. I am sure that it will no doubt hear strong representations from parents about their wishes to take forward this or other projects in the city. I look forward to working with the City of Edinburgh Council to move forward with a school in Edinburgh that will allow the flourishing of the Gaelic language. That is a very important commitment that we will continue to make to Edinburgh. My predecessor, the Deputy First Minister, launched and chaired the Gaelic Faster Rate of Progress initiative, which brought together a number of bodies that support Gaelic in different sectors. I aim to continue that initiative and look forward to building on that work. Throughout Scotland, there has been significant investment in Gaelic projects and in island communities. They have participated and benefited from them. There is still the potential for growth and the development of Gaelic in island communities. We must maintain that momentum by supporting and building on the policies in progress that are in place if they are effective in our outcomes that we wish to see. For the future of Gaelic, we need a strong focus on both our towns and our areas of low population. Many of the Gaelic initiatives that are in place are of equal benefit to both urban and rural environments, and both contexts support each other often. We also need to value both speakers and learners of Gaelic, as speakers have mentioned tonight, and the context and the networks in which they will use the language. In areas of low population, we need to be exceptionally mindful that wider issues such as employment, economy, housing and infrastructure also make an essential contribution to the Gaelic task, and that has been raised quite rightly by members today. That is an important emphasis that features prominently in the faster rate of growth. There is no fixed blueprint for Gaelic. We all recognise that different situations have different needs, which has come across from the different speakers tonight. We need to make sure that we are listening to all ages and addressing the needs of Gaelic learners as well as Gaelic speakers' influent communities. Another point to remember is that any comparison with the past demonstrates good progress for Gaelic. There is more Gaelic activity in place now and more Gaelic funding than there ever has been. Our task is to ensure that the projects that we put in place, as I said, are effective and are increasing the numbers learning, speaking and using Gaelic. An important point for us is that Gaelic development is not static, there is no status quo. Gaelic continues to be active in many sectors and it is developing and new projects are being put in place, but we have to ensure that we keep moving forward and building on the initiatives in place. We in the Scottish Government will add to the valuable work being done with the new commitments that I have mentioned and more. Another point is that we must all work together. The Gaelic world is too small for division and we must collaborate and co-operate to achieve the progress that we want to see. Again, there are many fantastic examples of that. We are seeing collaborative working around early years support and for parents between Argyll and Bute, Conrall and Neil and Shear and Highland councils. That will go some way to reverse the impact of Covid on parental confidence. The Scottish Government has also provided funding support to ensure that there are more Gaelic development officers in communities. Borddona Gaelic has invested in support for the network of officers. In nine weeks, we will see the release of Speak Gaelic, which aims to enable increased numbers of people learning Gaelic and motivating existing speakers to use and improve their language. The Scottish Government is proud to support MgAlpa with this multi-platformed project. There is much to do. As speakers have mentioned, tonight's time is critical on this. There are good initiatives in place and I am happy to continue the work on this, but recognise the call that has come from across the chamber to do more, to do it quickly and to assure that we are supporting people that want to support the Gaelic language. On that basis, I am happy to support the motion and I look forward to building on and adding to what we have in place to make further progress. Importantly, as this is a new responsibility for me, I will absolutely do so by listening to and working with the communities that I will seek to represent as I move forward with my work on this area. Thank you, cabinet secretary. That concludes the debate and I close this meeting.