HL Deb 12 March 1997 vol 579 c27WA
Lord Hooson

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Why they have not ratified the Council of Europe's charter on minority languages.

Lord Lucas

The Government gave thorough consideration to the merits of signing this charter. We believe that, in the United Kingdom's case, the Government are better placed to assess the needs of and determine the level of support for indigenous minority languages. For this reason the Government decided not to sign the charter. My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Wales announced his decision in another place on 3 April 1996.