Scottish Languages Bill: business and regulatory impact assessment

Options

When developing the provisions within the Scottish Languages Bill, the Scottish Government gave consideration to the following options:

Option 1 – Do nothing

Under this option existing legislation would remain in place and primary legislation would not be brought. No changes would be made to current processes and policies if this position was adopted. If this approach were the preferred option, the Scottish Government would fail to live up to its manifesto commitments which recognised the need to take further action on behalf of Gaelic and Scots.

Option 2 – Non-regulatory changes

Under option 2 the Scottish Government would seek to implement changes to operational processes and guidance without introducing legislation. If this were to be the preferred option the improvements and changes that could be made would be limited and constrained. There is a need for pace and action to be taken in relation to the protection of Gaelic and Scots. Therefore a non-regulatory approach was not considered sufficient to ensure the progress that is required.

The majority of the proposals included in the Bill could only be enacted through primary legislation and giving secondary legislation making powers to ensure that appropriate frameworks are in place for the coming years. The structures put in place in the 2005 Act improved the circumstances of Gaelic. However merely refreshing these documents was not considered sufficient to bring about the level of change required for Gaelic and Scots.

For the proposal Scottish Government officials considered relevant literature and compared international practice in this area. The public consultation also brought forth the views of professionals active within the Gaelic sphere developed by previous legislation. Their views, and the extensive public debate they echoed, made clear the need for legislative change.

For the Scots language commitments, the absence of existing legislative support for the language meant that non-regulatory changes were not a possible route to achieving the desired goals.

Option 3 – Legislative change

This option would take the primary legislation forward as planned to amend, and repeal sections of the Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act 2005 and the Education (Scotland) Act 2016 Act as well as seeking to create new provisions in those Acts.

Option 3 is the Scottish Government's preferred approach. It will have the greatest policy impact. Primary legislation will enable the Scottish Government to fulfil its obligations to Gaelic and Scots. It will also ensure that the system is efficient and delivering value for money.