§ Lord Lairdasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the decision to cut the budget of the Ulster-Scots Agency in 2003 by 16 per cent represents a concern about the activities, culture, language and identity which it promotes; if so, why; and, if not, why was the budget cut. [HL3276]
§ The Lord President of the Council (Lord Williams of Mostyn)The activity of the two agencies since 1999 has been considered satisfactory in terms of contributing to fulfilling their statutory functions. As the noble Lord is aware, work is now under way to increase the budget of the North/South Language Body.
§ Lord Lairdasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the Northern Ireland Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure will allow funding from the New Opportunities Fund to be made available to the Ulster-Scots Agency. [HL3324]
§ Lord Williams of MostynThe National Lottery is a reserved matter. Overall responsibility for the lottery rests with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). The Government set out the overall broad framework and priorities for the New Opportunities Fund (NOF) programmes, through policy directions issued by DCMS, and NOF then develops and delivers suitable programmes. Decisions on the allocation of funds from NOF to individual projects are a matter for NOF and are made independently of government.