§ Lord Lairdasked Her Majesty's Government:
Why they have not given guidance to all their offices in Northern Ireland concerning the equal treatment of Irish and Ulster Scots, as promised in the Belfast Agreement of 1998. [HL4483]
§ The Lord Privy Seal (Lord Williams of Mostyn)As I indicated in my Answer to the noble Lord(WA 133), the Belfast Agreement affirmed the parties' recognition of the "importance of respect, understanding and tolerance in relation to linguistic diversity, including in Northern Ireland, the Irish language, Ulster-Scots and the languages of the various ethnic communities, all of which are part of the cultural wealth of the island of Ireland".
Maintaining linguistic diversity is the responsibility of the Northern Ireland Office, the other Exchequer Departments operating in Northern Ireland and the devolved administration. Work is progressing jointly to ensure a consistent approach is taken across all administrative arms of government in Northern Ireland and guidance will be issued in due course.