Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing a statutory footing for Gaelic language broadcasting in the forthcoming Media Bill.

The Government recognises the incredibly valuable contribution MG ALBA makes to the lives and wellbeing of Gaelic speakers across Scotland and the UK as a whole, including through its partnership with the BBC in providing BBC ALBA. This contribution has been made since MG ALBA was originally established as the Gaelic Television Committee under the Broadcasting Act 1990. The current partnership between the BBC and MG ALBA must ensure high quality, diverse Gaelic language content continues to be readily available so that Gaelic culture is protected in the years to come.

As part of the changes described in our Broadcasting White Paper, Up Next, we intend, for the first time, to make the importance of programmes broadcast in the UK’s indigenous regional and minority languages – including the Gaelic language – clear in legislation, by including it in our new public service remit for television. This will enhance the statutory footing that already exists for the Gaelic language.