Written question asked by Angus Brendan MacNeil (Scottish National Party) on Tuesday, 19 July 2005, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 21 July 2005. It was answered by Lord Hanson of Flint (Labour) on Monday, 12 September 2005 on behalf of the Northern Ireland Office.

Correspondence

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what his Department's policy is for dealing with correspondence received in (a) Welsh, (b) Scots Gaelic and (c) Irish Gaelic.

Answer: Central guidance for Northern Ireland officials on meeting UK Government commitments in respect of Irish as set out in the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages has been developed by the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure and agreed by all Northern Ireland Departments and other Government Departments operating in the Northern Ireland.Guidance for use by officials from the NIO and NI Departments and associated public bodies on correspondence in Irish advises officials to reply, wherever possible, in Irish to correspondence received in that language.There are no official obligations in Northern Ireland in respect of Welsh or Scots Gaelic, although, where practicable, Departments would endeavour to accommodate the needs of persons wishing to correspond in those languages.

Secondary information