Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Scottish Government received just two complaints about Gaelic road signs

Post Thumbnail

Just two complaints have ever been made to the Scottish Government about Gaelic road signs, it has emerged.

Bilingual signs have proved controversial for some in recent years amid concerns over their cost and alleged road safety impact.

But a freedom of information (FOI) request response has now revealed that since 2002, just two complaints have been made about such signs to the Scottish Government and Transport Scotland, which runs the trunk road network.

It follows a previous disclosure that only £3,510 had been spent by Transport Scotland on Gaelic road signs and safety material between 2014 and 2017, although a total of £2 million had been spent generally on trunk road signs in the Highlands between 2002 and 2010.

Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch MSP Kate Forbes said: “These figures prove that most people have better things to do than complain about Gaelic road signs.


>> Keep up to date with the latest news with The P&J newsletter


“It costs very little, largely because Gaelic names are added when the signs need replaced anyway, it enriches our culture and it’s perfectly safe.

“It is pretty obvious, but the Gaelic names are more often than not the original names.

“Usually they teach us a little bit about the history or the environment of a particular place as well.”

The SNP MSP added: “For years, Gaelic speakers have been forced to speak English, work in English and use anglicised versions of the very places they call home.

“Putting the Gaelic name, often the original, on a road sign doesn’t harm anybody and, indeed, is worthy of celebration.”

In response to an FOI request on the issue, the Scottish Government said: “In 2002, Transport Scotland, in consultation with The Highland Council and Argyll and Bute Council, established a rationale for introducing bilingual road signs on trunk roads that pass through these regions and which lead to west coast ferry ports.

“As a result, bilingual direction signing has been provided on the A82 trunk road from Tarbet to Inverness and those trunk roads leading to the ports at Kennacraig, Oban, Mallaig, Uig and Ullapool.

“This policy, which is consistent with the aims and objectives of the Gaelic Language Plan is also being extended to include the A9 north of Perth as part of the A9 dualling programme.

“We have received a total of two complaints regarding Gaelic on road signs since they were installed.”