§ Mr. DalyellTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assistance was provided by the Embassy for the First Minister for Scotland during his recent visit to Washington; and what advice the First Minister received from the UK Ambassador about representation of UK regions in the embassy. [158133]
§ Mr. Robin CookThe British Embassy in Washington provided the First Minister for Scotland with the usual assistance they would offer to visiting Ministers. They provided a full programme of calls and the First Minister was accompanied during his visit which included a call on the White House.
The Ambassador and the First Minister discussed the possibility of a secondment of a Scottish Executive official to the Embassy. Additionally, the embassy has been in touch with each of the devolved administrations about their representational activity in the United States.
§ Mr. DalyellTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his policy is on providing representation in the Embassy in(a) Washington and (b) Tripoli for constituent parts of the United Kingdom. [158134]
§ Mr. Robin CookIn respect of Washington, I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to his previous question. Embassy staff in staff in all our posts overseas continue to represent all the constituent parts of the UK.