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Plans are afoot to allow individuals to sit the UK's citizenship test in Cornish - but not in Gaelic or Welsh, it has been revealed.

The unexpected revelation came in the form of a response to a question by Baroness Smith of Basildon, a Labour Peer and shadow leader of the House of Lords.

Replying to Baroness Smith’s parliamentary question, Baroness Williams of Trafford, a junior minister in the Government and a Tory peer, said Theresa May’s Government "will consider whether it would be appropriate to make the test available in Cornish as part of the protected minority status".

In 2014, the Tory-led coalition Government granted protected minority status for the Cornish.

Professor Thom Brooks, an immigration law expert at Durham University, said at the time this change required significant revisions to the Life in the UK citizenship test because the Cornish were to have equal treatment with other protected groups like Scots, Welsh and Irish.

Yet no changes have been made to the citizenship test since its current third edition was published in 2013.

However the Government’s response has caught many by surprise.

Professor Brooks said: "It’s remarkable to discover the Government is considering the production of citizenship tests in Cornish not long after they stopped making tests in Scots Gaelic or Welsh.

"Either they don’t understand what their granting Cornish protected status requires or they risk creating an unnecessary anomaly launching tests in the smallest British language while ending it for more popular alternatives."

Originally launched in 2005, the Life in the UK citizenship test was available in English, Scots Gaelic and Welsh until October 2013.

It is now only produced in English. There were no objections raised in Parliament to this change by Plaid Cymru or the Scottish National Party.

According to research by Professor Brooks, only one non-English test was sat in Scots Gaelic and none in Welsh.

Cornish (Kernowek) is a southwestern Brittonic Celtic language native to Cornwall. The language began a revival in the early 20th century and is considered to be an important part of Cornish identity, culture and heritage.

Cornish is currently a recognised minority language of the UK, protected under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, and has a growing number of second language speakers and a small number of first language speakers.

One figure for the mean number of people who know a few basic words, such as knowing that "Kernow" means "Cornwall", was 300,000 at the 2011 Census, however the number of people able to have simple conversations is understood to be roughly 3,000, putting Cornish as the smallest of the Celtic native tongues of Britain in term of speakers.

Last month a delegation from Cornwall descended on Westminster to argue its case for a Cornish tickbox on the next national Census.

Many feel Cornwall should be given the same respect as its Celtic cousins, Wales, Scotland and Ireland, which already enjoy the privileges of a tickbox in the Census.

In the last Census in 2011, 13.8% of people in Cornwall self-identified as Cornish, using a blank box in the ‘other’ section.

Since then Cornwall Council has held a number of discussions with senior officials at the Office for National Statistics (ONS), which is responsible for carrying out the Census, asking for the change to be made in the next Census in 2021.

The 2001 Census was marred by rows when Scottish people could tick themselves as 'Scottish' but 'Welsh' was absent from the form.

Professor Brooks added: "Protected status is not about putting the test into more languages, but adding more balance. Cornish culture and history are virtually absent from the test – not even Cornish pasties are mentioned.

"If they are to have the equality afforded to them, the test must change to reflect this move. Government has dragged its feet for too long and their response is shambolic."