§ Mr. Barnes:To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how the interests of victims and survivors of the Northern Ireland Troubles from Great Britain are represented in the talks between the British and Irish Governments and the Northern Ireland political parties. [142750]
§ Angela Smith:The Joint Declaration of 6 May 2003 commits Government to work with the Irish Government, the political parties and victims and survivors to seek to establish what further practical steps can be taken to recognise and address the suffering of all victims, taking into account the state of readiness of the community as a whole to engage. The Government continues to work towards meeting these commitments and as part of this process I am currently engaged in a consultation process to develop the next generation of victims' policy. Included within this process are the findings of The Legacy Report, a recently completed needs analysis of victims of the Northern Ireland Troubles living in Great Britain. The report was commissioned by the Legacy Project, an initiative of the Tim Parry Jonathan Ball Trust which has been allocated Government funding of £250,000. The recommendations made in the report are now under consideration.
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