§ Lord Lairdasked Her Majesty's Government:
On what date and in what form the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland was informed of the desire of the Government of the Irish Republic to cut the budget of the Language Implementation Body for 2003; what was his response; to whom and on what date did he respond; and whether they will place in the Library of the House all documentation they have on this topic, including e-mails, letters memoranda and minutes of meetings. [HL3279]
§ The Lord President of the Council (Lord Williams of Mostyn)Officials in the Department of Finance and Personnel were informed of the proposed cut to the Southern contribution to the language body's budget on 21 November 2002 at a meeting with officials from the Department of Finance. The Minister responsible for the Department of Finance and Personnel was advised of the proposed reduction on 24 January 2003 and he agreed the budget for the language body on 29 January 2003. The two Governments gave formal approval to the recommendation on the budget on 26 February 2003, under the agreement made by the exchange of notes dated 19 November 2002.
The papers relating to the decision made on the language body budget under the exchange of notes of 19 November 2002 have been placed in the Library.
§ Lord Lairdasked Her Majesty's Government:
On what date and in what form the Northern Ireland Department of Finance and Personnel was informed about the decision of the Government of the Irish Republic to cut the budget of the Language Implementation Body; what was its response; to whom and on what date did it respond; and whether they will place in the Library of the House all documentation they have on this topic, including e-mails, letters, memoranda and minutes of meetings. [HL3280]
§ Lord Williams of MostynOfficials in the Department of Finance were informed of the proposed cut to the Southern contribution to the language body's budget on 21 November 2002 at a meeting with officials from the Department of Finance.
The papers relating to the decision made on the language body budget under the exchange of notes of 19 November 2002 have been placed in the Library.