The Council of Europe's Committee of Ministers has made a series of recommendations to the British governmentconcerning the use of regional and minority languages in the UK.
The Committee called on the authorities to introduce a comprehensive Irish language policy, to strengthen Scottish Gaelic education and to increase the use of Welsh in health and social care.
It also recommended boosting the support given to the Ulster Scots Agency and establishing and maintaining central government support for the Cornish language.
The recommendations were based on a report from the Committee of Experts of the European Charter for Regional and Minority Languages.
The report assesses the extent to which laws and practices in the UK are in line with the country's binding commitments under the charter, which the UK ratified in 2001.
Media contact: Andrew Cutting (andrew.cutting@coe.int, tel +32 485 217 202)