Mr. John D. TaylorTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when Her Majesty's 603W Government acceded to the Council of Europe Charter for Regional or Minority Languages; what assessment he has made of the implications of the Charter for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement. [57959]
§ Mr. Tony LloydWe have yet to accede to the Council of Europe Charter for Regional or Minority Languages but intend to do so, as my right hon. Friend the Member for Leeds, Central (Mr. Fatchett), the Minister of State, informed the House on 4 June 1998,Official Report, column 350.
We propose to specify the Welsh language in Wales and the Gaelic language in Scotland under Part III of the Charter. We aim to specify the Irish language at an early date. Part II of the Charter will apply to the Scots language. We also propose to commission independent academic research which will help to determine whether Ulster-Scots should be treated as a language for the purposes of the Charter.
We are considering what aspects of the Charter should apply to the languages specified under Part III. At least 35 paragraphs or sub-paragraphs of the Charter must be identified and applied in such cases.