Chamber and committees

Thank you. That is helpful.

The 2017 Welsh language strategy has a timeframe up to 2050. Will you articulate the Government’s aims for Scots and Gaelic in the medium and long terms?

People’s having some skills in Gaelic and Gaelic being a community language are different things, albeit that they are not completely separate, because one feeds into the other and helps the language to thrive. Has the Government spoken to communities about what success would look like for them and what their aims would be in the long term?

I will stay with the topic of areas of linguistic significance. Under the bill, local authorities will have the power to instigate designation. We have spoken about Comhairle nan Eilean Siar’s good work on Gaelic first. There are perhaps examples of other local authorities that are not being as supportive of Gaelic but have, traditionally, Gaelic-speaking communities in their area. Bearing in mind that success for the language is related to community thriving, would you be open to amending the bill to have community-led designation, not just local authority-led designation?

In many ways, Claire Cullen and the cabinet secretary have answered my question, but I just want to be clear that this is not about the Government dropping something alien into our schools and making teachers perform something different. Scots education is going on at the moment through drama, music and literature; this is about giving teachers confidence and a framework to ensure that what they are doing in delivering stuff in their community’s own language is the correct thing to do. Am I right?

Good morning. What is the single agency model that was just referred to?

I would like to dig into the housing, childcare and infrastructure issues. Addressing them would help across the board, in terms of public servants moving to rural and island communities. When I have asked during evidence sessions whether boards are having conversations about housing with local authorities, I have found that that does not seem to have been happening. I totally appreciate the challenging fiscal environment that we are in at the moment in terms of capital, but is there a role for the Scottish Government in providing guidance or a framework that would enable public bodies—local authorities, health boards and so on—to pool their resources, such as the land and buildings that the NHS has, and perhaps bring in private investment, too, to develop housing solutions and childcare solutions that would serve the communities and help with sustainability?

That would certainly be helpful. It is not a matter of asking for additional resource; it is about using what is there. If we could have those examples, that would be really helpful for the committee.

Could you provide an example of that, particularly in relation to building? We will be aware of lots of good examples of joint working, but I am not sure why things are not progressing; you might have more information on that. We have had the integration for a number of years now—for a decade, even.

I will ask about education and training. Obviously, for the sustainability of a workforce, growing your own is helpful, and certainly the folk who we have spoken to in rural areas have pointed to that. As I ask this question, I am conscious that some of the solutions would address issues across the country and not just in rural areas.

First, I want to ask about the work on NHS apprenticeship roles. We have heard about roles in dietetics, occupational health, physiotherapy and radiography. It would be helpful to hear more about the development of those apprenticeship roles.

I am sorry to interrupt, but I would like to jump in. How are the numbers of apprenticeships available to each health board decided? Do boards have a certain proportion that they are allowed to support? How does that work?