Written question asked by Calum Macdonald (Labour) on Thursday, 13 May 2004, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 19 May 2004. It was answered by Denis MacShane (Labour) on Wednesday, 19 May 2004 on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the Council of Europe's recent report on implementation of the European Charter on minority and lesser-used languages; and whether the Government will be publishing a response.

Answer: Mr. MacDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the Council of Europe's recent report on implementation of the European Charter on minority and lesser-used languages; and whether the Government will be publishing a response. [174186] Mr. MacShane: The Government welcomed the Council of Europe's report of 24 March 2004 on the implementation of the Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. The report praises the UK in setting up official bodies for Welsh, Irish and Ulster-Scots. It also applauds the UK for the development of a semi-official body for Scottish Gaelic. The report commends the UK's dynamic approach to the instrument of ratification in recognising Manx and Cornish. It also noted the same approach regarding the ratification for Welsh. The UK Government have already made a response to the report, and this is included in the full report published by the Council of Europe.

Secondary information