§ Lord Lairdasked Her Majesty's Government:
Which officials of the Northern Ireland Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure have since 2000 travelled outside the British Isles on authorised business; what was the purpose of each visit; and how much did each visit cost. [HL1884]
§ The Lord President of the Council (Baroness Amos)Since 2000 a total of 18 visits have been undertaken by Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure officials outside of the British Isles.
Nine of these visits were to Europe involving 12 officials at a cost of £7,221.92. The purpose of the visits were attendance at European Centre for Minority Issues Conference; Soccer Strategy Visit to a Football Youth Academy; North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organisation Conference; Minority Languages Charter meeting; visit to NI Executive Office in Brussels to investigate cultural funding opportunities for DCAL; North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Meeting; EU Workshop on Eels; General Angling Fair and British High Commission business.
The remaining nine visits were to USA and Canada involving seven officials at a total cost of £20,508.57. The purpose of the visits were to staff accompanying the Minister on two occasions; Arts from Ireland Festival; Third Sector New England Conference; World Canals Seminar; Cultural links with the Getty Institute and CAL Arts and also three visits on NI Bureau business; Establishment of Cultural Desk in Washington Bureau; Interviews for Cultural Affairs Office and American Conference of Irish Studies.