§ Lord Lairdasked Her Majesty's Government:
Why the Northern Ireland Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure stopped the Ulster-Scots Agency's policy of targeting social need by removing the appropriate section of its budget for the year 2004. [HL2194]
§ The Lord President of the Council (Baroness Amos)The approved budget for 2004 for the Ulster-Scots Agency is £1,704,000. This gives an increase of £164,000 (10.65 per cent), on the approved budget for 2003. The budget was calculated on the basis of the 2003 budget with amounts due to inflation and the cost of additional staff. This is in line with the care and maintenance mode in which North/South bodies are operating. The Ulster-Scots Agency's policy of targeting social need is ongoing and the approved budget for 2004 should not impact detrimentally on this. Targeting social need is a cross-cutting theme that should be reflected throughout the agency's programme of work.