Council to call on Scottish Government to discuss Gaelic issues

The Highland Council is to press for a meeting with Scottish Government Ministers to discuss completing bilingual signage of the trunk road network and in particular the A9. The Council will also raise concerns about the national issues of Gaelic teacher recruitment.

Members of the Council’s Gaelic Committee have highlighted the need to lobby Holyrood to include bilingual signage in the Government’s recently declared commitment to dual the A9 from Perth to Inverness.

Alongside this there was cross-party support for extending bilingual signage to the rest of the A9 and other key routes such as the A86, A96 and the A95.

Councillor Hamish Fraser, Chairman of The Highland Council’s Gaelic Committee said: “Members of the Gaelic Committee are in total agreement that the Council will write to John Swinney, Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth; and Fiona Hislop, Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning seeking a meeting to discuss bilingual signage and Gaelic teacher recruitment.

Councillor Michael Foxley, Leader of The Highland Council’s Administration said: “The Council’s political leadership would very much welcome the opportunity to meet and discuss how the Scottish Government and the Council can work together to  bilingually sign the A9 from Perth to Inverness and how we can address the critical issues of recruiting Gaelic teachers.”