(201)  Parliamentary petitions and minority languages

On 28 October 2002 the Scottish Parliament Procedures Committee announced that public petitions to the Parliament might be presented in languages other than English or Gaelic after the Scottish Parliament Corporate Body agreed to fund appropriate translation facilities.  There had been concern that the existing rules discriminated against ethnic minorities.  Public information leaflets about the Parliament will also be produced in a number of languages, including Arabic and Urdu.