115.Section 33 provides for the status of the Scots language. The statement in subsection (1) that the Scots language has official status within Scotland is given legal effect by the provisions of the Act conferring functions on the Scottish Ministers and other persons (primarily relevant public authorities, as defined in section 36(3)).
116.Subsection (3) provides that subsection (1) does not affect the operation of any other enactment (as defined in the Interpretation and Legislative Reform (Scotland) Act 2010) or the status of any other language. For example, this provision does not affect the operation of the Equality Act 2010, modification of which is a reserved matter under the Scotland Act 1998.
117.Section 34 requires the Scottish Ministers to prepare a Scots language strategy. The section sets out the required content of the Scots language strategy, consultation and publication requirements and timescales for its preparation and review and revision. In particular, the Scottish Ministers must publicise arrangements for making representations about the draft strategy and must publish the results of that consultation.
118.Section 35 requires the Scottish Ministers to report on the strategy as soon as reasonably practicable after the end of the period of 5 years from when the strategy was last published. The report must be published and laid before the Scottish Parliament.
119.Section 36 requires that the Scottish Ministers must have regard to the strategy when making policies and exercising their functions, and that a relevant public authority must have regard to it in exercising its functions. Subsection (3) defines relevant public authority, consistent with the definition in section 10 of the 2005 Act (as amended by section 13 of the Act).
120.Section 37 gives the Scottish Ministers a power to give guidance to relevant public authorities relating to promoting, facilitating and supporting the use of the Scots language (including different dialects of the Scots language) and developing and encouraging Scots culture. The Scottish Ministers must consult interested persons in preparing the guidance. Such persons could include, for example, bodies such as Scots Hoose and Yaldi Books.
121.Subsection (5) defines Scots culture in an analogous way to the definition of Gaelic culture in section 10 of the 2005 Act.
122.Section 38 creates a power for the Scottish Ministers to give financial assistance, including grants and loans, to any person for the purposes of promoting, facilitating and supporting the use of the Scots language, subject to such conditions as the Scottish Ministers think fit.
123.Section 39 creates a power for the Scottish Ministers to conduct research and inquiries, collect data and publish statistics, provide training, or encourage or assist other persons to do those things, for the purposes of or in connection with the exercise of their functions under Part 2 Chapter 1.
124.Section 40 requires the Scottish Ministers to promote, facilitate and support Scots language education in schools. The Scottish Ministers must in particular promote, facilitate and support the provision of adequate education resources in Scots. This could include resources such as worksheets, reading books and other learning materials.
125.An education authority must also promote, facilitate and support Scots language education in the schools under its management. An education authority may discharge its duty through teaching and learning in the dialect of the Scots language most relevant to its area: for example, in the north east this could be provided in Doric.
126.Section 41 gives the Scottish Ministers a power to give guidance to education authorities relating to Scots language education in schools. The Scottish Ministers must consult interested persons in preparing the guidance. Such persons could include, for example bodies such as Scots Hoose and Yaldi Books.
127.Section 42 gives the Scottish Ministers power to make regulations to specify the standards and requirements to which an education authority must conform in discharging its functions in relation to Scots language education in the schools under its management. This is modelled on the power to prescribe standards and requirements in section 2 of the 1980 Act and the equivalent power in relation to Gaelic education created by section 16 of the Act. Unlike section 2 of the 1980 Act, the standards and requirements will not have to apply to every education authority, allowing for flexibility across different education authorities. The Scottish Ministers must consult interested persons in preparing the regulations.
128.Regulations under this section may make different provision for different purposes and different areas (including different parts of an education authority’s area). Regulations are subject to the negative procedure.
129.Section 43 requires the Scottish Ministers to consider whether to produce information, guidance or documents for use in school education in Scots where that material is produced in English. If an education authority requests a translation of such material, including material produced before the section comes into force, the Scottish Ministers must consider providing that.
130.The duty applies to material produced by the Scottish Ministers (with subsection (3) setting out in more detail what producing material means) which is used in the delivery of school education by teachers or is intended for use by pupils when doing their school work. This might include material relating to topics such as climate change, road safety, personal health and healthy eating which is for use in the context of the classroom.
131.Section 44 requires the Scottish Ministers to keep under review the adequacy of education resources in Scots for use in school education, and to prepare and publish reports setting out steps they consider necessary to address any issues identified by the review.
132.Section 45 requires the Scottish Ministers to secure the provision of reports (for instance from a third party provider) setting out progress made in the delivery of Scots language education in schools.
133.Section 46 imports defined terms from the 1980 Act for the purposes of this Chapter.