Scottish Gaelic

Mr. John D. Taylor
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what are his estimates of the percentage of people  in Scotland who (a) use the Scottish Gaelic as their first language and (b) have a fluent knowledge of Scottish Gaelic.

Mr. Michael Forsyth
Information is not available in the form requested. At the time of the 1981 census some 1·6 per cent. of the population of Scotland aged three or over were identified as Gaelic speakers.