§ Mr. Kennedyasked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give the most up to date figures available for the level of per capita support for the promotion of the Gaelic language; and if he will detail the basis and method of calculation for arriving at that figure.
§ Mr. John MacKayExcluding possible Scottish Arts Council grant to promote Gaelic arts bodies and using the 1981 census figures for the number of Gaelic speakers the approximate per capita spend for the current financial year is £5.42 net of specific grants to education authorities and £8.45 including those grants. The breakdown of funding for the promotion of Gaelic in 1986–87 is as follows:
£ National Voluntary Organisations (including Database Research Project) 141,000 Gaelic Books Council 58,250 Direct funding by Highlands and Islands Development Board 242,400 Consultative Committee on the Curriculum 6,100 Specific Grants to Education Authorities 250,000 697,750 The 1981 census shows the number of Gaelic speakers as 82,620.