Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of recognising (a) English, (b) Irish, (c) Scottish and (d) Welsh as distinct nationalities within nationalities and immigration legislation.

British citizenship is the nationality defined in the British Nationality Act 1981, held by those with a close connection to the UK. There are no plans to change this.

Although we do not distinguish between nationalities within the United Kingdom, we do recognise the rich and unique contribution the Welsh, Scots Gaelic, and Irish languages make to our United Kingdom. Currently, all applicants applying for citizenship are required to have passed the Life in the UK (LitUK) test and, while the Life in the UK Handbook is only available in English, the test can also be taken in Welsh or Scots Gaelic, which are the only other languages currently specified in statute as requirements for naturalisation.

We are assessing the potential merits of including recognition of regional languages more broadly in our immigration system and will provide our conclusion in due course.