MSPs do not know if there is enough money to pay for the Scottish Government's ambition to teach three languages from primary school age, a committee has concluded.

The government wants children to learn a second language from primary 1 and a third language no later than primary 5, the so-called 1+2 approach.

A lack of language skills costs the economy more than £500 million a year, the SNP administration estimates.

It has allocated £4m for its languages fund but this has been described as "a drop in the ocean" by headteachers.

There is insufficient information to assess whether this funding is enough to implement 1+2 in schools, Holyrood's European and External Affairs Committee concluded in a new report.

Convener Christina McKelvie, an SNP MSP, said: "We have found it hard to assess whether this funding is adequate as it is still not known what the current levels of skills and resources for language learning in schools are."

She added: "We are recommending that local authorities ensure one language is taught continuously from primary to secondary schools. This will help develop competency and can feed into the local job market more productively."

The Association of Headteachers and Deputes in Scotland told the committee the £4m is just "a drop in the ocean", while the Government's own Languages Working Group thinks two to three times that amount would be required.

The report states: "The committee does not feel that it has sufficient information to determine whether the funding allocated by the Scottish Government is sufficient or not."