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Lord Triesman

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BBC World Service

I declare an interest as the Minister who for several years was responsible, among other things, for the World Service. This is one of the most depressing Statements I think I have heard in the House. One of the answers to my noble friend Lady Symons demonstrated that a major...
Member
Lord Triesman (Labour)
Type
Proceeding contributions
Date
26 January 2011
Reference
724 c1029
House
House of Lords
Prisons: Women

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they intend that the majority of women remand prisoners in HM Prison Holloway will be excluded from education; whether 40 women in the First Stage Lifers Unit will have full access to education; and whether foreign national women will be able to benefit from English for...
Asked by
Lord Hylton (Crossbench)
Type
Written questions
Status
Answered
Date
27 November 2007
Reference
383; 696 c114WA
House
House of Lords
EU: Education Council

I attended the EU Education Council to represent the UK on behalf of DCSF and DIUS. Ministers discussed the following issues: European Qualifications Framework—Political Agreement The council agreed the European Parliament amendments to the EQF. These amendments were in line with the general approach that had been agreed previously at...
Member
Lord Triesman (Labour)
Department
Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills
Type
Written statements
Date
27 November 2007
Reference
696 c147-9WS
House
House of Lords
Diplomatic Service: Foreign Language Training
My Lords, I think that assurances can be given on both fronts. We have a history of good language training, but it is not entirely efficient—it certainly could be done more efficiently. It is not sufficiently flexible for the users, whose needs must be paramount on occasion, and sometimes the provision is not as efficient as it ought to be. In some languages, for example, we use just 11 per cent of a teacher’s capacity, and the highest use is 55 per cent. We can do a lot better for those learning the languages, and we can certainly sustain the overall spread of the languages, which we unquestionably need. They should be usable in all the circumstances that my noble friend described.
Answered by
Lord Triesman (Labour)
Type
Oral answers to questions
Date
2 May 2007
Reference
691 c1057
House
House of Lords
Diplomatic Service: Foreign Language Training
My Lords, excellent foreign language skills remain essential for all British diplomats. We are introducing a new language-training policy after extensive consultation within the FCO. We will require heads of mission to be trained to a level where they can communicate fluently, locally and with the media, as many now can. Our training and examinations will align to a recognised international standard. More time will be spent overseas learning languages. Our teaching in the UK will become more flexible and cost-effective as we source our services from private-sector providers.
Answered by
Lord Triesman (Labour)
Type
Oral answers to questions
Date
2 May 2007
Reference
691 c1057
House
House of Lords
Diplomatic Service: Foreign Language Training
My Lords, some tasks may be even beyond the Foreign Office. Embedded in that, however, there is a significant point. Sometimes diplomats spend not just years but decades abroad, and are not as familiar with the country they represent, whether in terms of language or anything else, as they might be if they were back here a little more often,. One of the points about flexibility is to ensure that those who represent us abroad not only speak languages, but speak authoritatively for our language and culture.
Answered by
Lord Triesman (Labour)
Type
Oral answers to questions
Date
2 May 2007
Reference
691 c1057-8
House
House of Lords
Diplomatic Service: Foreign Language Training
My Lords, I think so. As I said to the noble Lord, Lord Wallace, there is much knowledge of the way these things are developing and of the sorts of issues which must be addressed by a language in a particular context. Therefore, there is every prospect of our being able to build on what we have done and to enhance precisely the areas that my noble friend described. It is a matter not simply of having a larger lexicon, although that helps, but of understanding the real relevance of the discussions that people want to have with us.
Answered by
Lord Triesman (Labour)
Type
Oral answers to questions
Date
2 May 2007
Reference
691 c1059
House
House of Lords
Diplomatic Service: Foreign Language Training
My Lords, on that last point, I shall ensure that the Chancellor is aware of your Lordships’ wishes in the matter; they are egged on by a very considerable authority in that regard. It is vital that we speak all the languages that are required. It is not just a courtesy to the countries concerned but enables us to have a range of understanding. More flexible language teaching could achieve an even stronger idiomatic sense of a language and the culture from which it springs.
Answered by
Lord Triesman (Labour)
Type
Oral answers to questions
Date
2 May 2007
Reference
691 c1058
House
House of Lords
Diplomatic Service: Foreign Language Training
My Lords, the noble Lord knows from his experience, perhaps rather like mine, that whether universities are in the private or public sector is sometimes hard to define. I can certainly give the assurance he seeks, though. One of the reasons why I am confident that standards can be of the highest level is that I expect some of the providers to be institutions that are exactly like SOAS, where the record for doing this kind of work at the highest international levels is so great. We must make use of those kinds of resources in the mix. They are capable of offering what we need.
Answered by
Lord Triesman (Labour)
Type
Oral answers to questions
Date
2 May 2007
Reference
691 c1058
House
House of Lords
Diplomatic Service: Foreign Language Training
My Lords, I answer questions about what DfID staff will be asked to learn with the greatest trepidation. In the places that I have visited, they try to deal competently with the different linguistic communities. If that can be enhanced by the programmes that we now plan, it would be a great advantage.
Answered by
Lord Triesman (Labour)
Type
Oral answers to questions
Date
2 May 2007
Reference
691 c1058-9
House
House of Lords
Diplomatic Service: Foreign Language Training
What proposals they have to deliver foreign language training to members of the United Kingdom Diplomatic Service.
Asked by
Lord Harrison (Labour)
Oral questions - Lead
Status
Answered
Date
2 May 2007
Reference
691 c1057
House
House of Lords
Visas: Turkish Cypriot Teachers

Whether they will grant visas for up to six Turkish Cypriot teachers to come to Britain to teach Turkish and Turkish culture to members of their community in London.
Asked by
Lord Dubs (Labour)
Type
Written questions
Status
Answered
Date
5 June 2006
Reference
682 c171-2WA; 6031
House
House of Lords
Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe: Kazakhstan Election

How many United Kingdom parliamentarians participated in the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe Observer Delegation for the recent presidential election campaign in Kazakhstan; and how many of these parliamentarians have a knowledge of (a) the Russian language and (b) the Kazakh language.
Asked by
Lord Kilclooney (Crossbench)
Type
Written questions
Status
Answered
Date
12 January 2006
Reference
3141; 677 c85WA
House
House of Lords
UK Worldwide Interests

Lords debate on motion to call attention to the resources available for the promotion of the worldwide interests of the United Kingdom. Motion withdrawn.
Lead member
Lord Howe of Aberavon
Answering member
Lord Triesman
Department
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Type
Debates
Date
8 December 2005
Reference
676 c747-95
House
House of Lords
UK Worldwide Interests

My Lords, I entirely agree with that. The values of the past do not die although how we deliver them changes. I believe that the World Service’s review was thorough and authoritative, that the right decisions were taken and that they should be seen as part of an investment to meet the...
Member
Lord Triesman (Labour)
Type
Proceeding contributions
Date
8 December 2005
Reference
676 c792-5
House
House of Lords
UK Worldwide Interests

My Lords, I specifically talked about figures from spending reviews up to this point. There are questions about the future level of budget—the ones to which the noble Lord has just referred—and we are about to enter a new and, I hope, dynamic negotiation with the Treasury on the next comprehensive spending...
Member
Lord Triesman (Labour)
Type
Proceeding contributions
Date
8 December 2005
Reference
676 c790-2
House
House of Lords
UK Worldwide Interests

My Lords, the noble and learned Lord, Lord Howe, has chosen to raise an important subject for today’s debate, for which I thank him. It has attracted contributions from a distinguished range of Peers. With his barrister’s eye for the key points, he has chosen the issue of the FCO’s resources and...
Member
Lord Triesman (Labour)
Type
Proceeding contributions
Date
8 December 2005
Reference
676 c789-90
House
House of Lords
BBC World Service

My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Jack Straw) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement. The BBC World Service has today announced a significant modernisation and reprioritisation of its services to enable it to build on its international pre-eminence. The full text of that...
Member
Lord Triesman (Labour)
Department
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Type
Written statements
Date
25 October 2005
Reference
674 c67-8WS
House
House of Lords
EU: Official Languages

Whether it is necessary for member states of the European Union to register officially mandated languages within their constitutions as official languages of the European Union; and, if so, whether any exceptions have been made to such a rule.
Asked by
Lord Maginnis of Drumglass (Crossbench)
Type
Written questions
Status
Answered
Date
21 July 2005
Reference
1237; 673 c276-7WA
House
House of Lords
Council of Europe Charter for Regional or Minority Languages

I have today arranged for copies of the second report on the implementation of the Council of Europe's Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, to be placed in the Library of the House. The report details the measures taken by the Government and the devolved administrations to fulfil the UK's...
Member
Lord Triesman (Labour)
Department
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Type
Written statements
Notes
All Foreign and Commonwealth Office Statements so far this Session have not been transmitted for printing in Hansard due to a technical error. All FCO Statements so far this Session are reproduced today.
Date
18 July 2005
Reference
673 c58WS
House
House of Lords