Seòmar agus comataidhean

While I do not in any way disagree with my colleague Paul Sweeney, I ask that we be thoughtful about how we proceed. We do not want to just generate lots and lots of correspondence. Perhaps we can do a bit of desktop research to find out what the differences might be from the point of view of guidance.

Yes—it is seachdain na Gàidhlig or Gaelic week.

Mòran taing—thank you, convener.

We have been given clear evidence on Gaelic and its use in Scotland. The Gaelic language has been spoken throughout Scotland for many centuries. It is not the only language of Scotland but is one of Scotland’s languages and should command equal respect with the other languages of our nation.

There are many economic benefits. The petitioner’s claim that there is no evidence for a desire to support the Gaelic language throughout Scotland is not backed up by the evidence. In my constituency in Ayrshire there is a Gaelic-medium primary school. Calls for such education are parent led—they do not come from the Government. Every party in the Parliament is committed to Gaelic and supports education, arts and broadcasting. As you said, convener, there are plans to introduce a languages bill in the current session. For all those reasons, I propose that we close the petition under rule 15.7 of standing orders.

Thank you—that is helpful.

Good morning, Callum. My name is Ruth. Thank you for coming to talk to us. Would you be able to tell me a little bit about your eco group? I heard that you did some work with it in your school.

Okay. Did you do something about it when the taps were not working? Did you get some help from one of the adults in the school?

Did the janitor fix them for you?

I am sure that she will. This will be a wee reminder for her.

Who else have you spoken to? You have not just come straight to the Parliament, have you? You have spoken to lots of people.

Well done—you have done a really good job.

I have heard everyone say that deer management and invasive plants—rhododendron, for example—are the greatest threats, but we have spoken a lot about encroachment of commercial plantation tree species into ancient and native woodlands. I would like to hear the witnesses’ opinions on that. My first question is specifically for Doug Howieson from Scottish Forestry. What do you do to prevent that encroachment? How are you tackling that with new plantations? What are the opportunities to address the issue through “The UK Forestry Standard”?