Present:

The meeting opened at

The meeting opened at 2.03 pm.

1. Gaelic Language (Scotland) Bill: The Committee took evidence on the general principles of the Bill at Stage 1 from—

C’llr Allan Beaton, Chairman, Gaelic Working Group, Highland Council

C’llr Andrew Anderson, Chairman, Education, Culture and Sport Committee, Highland Council

Bruce Robertson, Director, Education, Culture and Sport Service, Highland Council

Morag Anna MacLeod, Gaelic Development Officer, Highland Council

C’llr Helen Law (Fife Council), Education Spokesperson, COSLA

C’llr Eric Gotts (East Dunbartonshire Council), COSLA

Dr Wilson McLeod, Senior Lecturer, Celtic and Scottish Studies, University of Edinburgh

Rob Dunbar, Senior Lecturer, School of Law, University of Glasgow

Peadar Morgan, Clì, Na Gaidheil Ùra (The New Gaels)

Jim Tough, Head of Strategic Development, Scottish Arts Council

2. Petition PE427: The Committee considered correspondence from Learning and Teaching Scotland and agreed that consideration of the petition could be concluded. The Committee also agreed that a future Committee may wish to assess the results of any review carried out by Learning and Teaching Scotland.

The meeting closed at

The meeting closed at 4.23 pm.