§ Mr. DoddsTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the total amount of public money granted by the(a) Arts Council of Northern Ireland, (b) Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure and (c) Ulster-Scots Agency was towards the publication of creative writing in the Ulster-Scots language in Northern Ireland in each year since 1999. [173187]
§ Angela SmithThe Arts Council of Northern Ireland has not made funding available specifically for the publication of writing in the Ulster-Scots language. However, in the 1998–99 financial year, the Arts Council made a grant of £7,500 to the Ulster-Scots Language Society for the publication of a book by Philip Robinson. Since then the Arts Council has received no applications for publications in the Ulster-Scots language.
The Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure's funds in support of the arts in Northern Ireland are disbursed chiefly through the Arts Council of Northern Ireland and the Department has not made any funding directly available for the publication of creative writing in the Ulster-Scots language.
The amount of funding granted by the Ulster-Scots Agency towards the publication of creative writing in the Ulster-Scots language in Northern Ireland since 1999 is detailed in the following table.
Amount (£) 1999 — 2000 — 2001 — 2002 6,280.00 2003 — 2004 121,855.00 1 Projected.