A PLAN to promote the Gaelic language in the Borders has been approved by the council’s elected officials.

The Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act was passed in 2005 by the Scottish Government “with a view to securing the status of the Gaelic language as an official language of Scotland and commanding equal respect to the English language”, according to council papers.

In accordance with the act, Scottish councils have been asked by the Bòrd na Gàidhlig to prepare a statutory ‘Gaelic Plan’.

During a full meeting of Scottish Borders Council (SBC) on June 17, the Borders plan was approved by councillors.

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At the virtual gathering of the council, Kelso councillor Euan Robson, of the Liberal Democrats, said: “If we do want to keep Gaelic alive we do need to invest in the process and the education. Gaelic speakers in the Borders do deserve to be recognised.”

The plan, which is the Borders’ first, sets out the aims in the region for the next five years.

One of the ‘high level aims’ outlined in council papers is to “work with Fèisean nan Gàidheal and other key partners in order to establish a Fèis (festival of music and dance)” in the Borders by the year 2023.

Other high level aims include continuing to “support Gaelic language learning opportunities in the community, and seek to expand this where demand is evident”, as well as to “support and encourage families and groups of families wishing to establish Gaelic early years and/or primary school provision within the Scottish Borders Council area”.

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During the meeting, independent Galashiels councillor Harry Scott said it is “symbolic of a government trying to control every aspect of our lives even to what we discuss in our homes”.

“It was never widely spoken in the Scottish Borders,” he said. “The Scottish Government spent £26 million last year supporting a language that less than two per cent of the population speak. Where is the justification for that? I have no objection to those who wish to learn the language, I wish them well, but it should be done on a voluntary basis.”

Speaking at a later stage in the meeting, Tweeddale East councillor Stuart Bell, of the SNP, described the paper and its proposals as “modest”.

“This part of the world was a multilingual part of the world,” he added.