{"value":{"id":1661855,"askingMemberId":1447,"askingMember":null,"house":"Commons","memberHasInterest":false,"dateTabled":"2023-09-19T00:00:00","dateForAnswer":"2023-10-16T00:00:00","uin":"200216","questionText":"To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether he is taking steps to promote (a) the usage and (b) education of the Ulster Scots language.","answeringBodyId":21,"answeringBodyName":"Northern Ireland Office","isWithdrawn":false,"isNamedDay":false,"groupedQuestions":[],"answerIsHolding":false,"answerIsCorrection":false,"answeringMemberId":4064,"answeringMember":null,"correctingMemberId":null,"correctingMember":null,"dateAnswered":"2023-10-16T00:00:00","answerText":"<p>The Secretary of State has taken the Identity and Language Act 2022 through Parliament. The Act provides for the creation of a Commissioner for the Ulster Scots and the Ulster British Tradition, as agreed in the New Decade, New Approach deal.</p><p> </p><p>A principal aim of this Commissioner will be to enhance and develop the associated language, arts and literature, recognising that Ulster Scots does not just encompass a language but a people with distinct cultural and artistic traditions. Specifically, the Act places a duty on the NI Department of Education to encourage and facilitate the use and understanding of Ulster Scots in the education system.</p>","originalAnswerText":"","comparableAnswerText":"","dateAnswerCorrected":null,"dateHoldingAnswer":null,"attachmentCount":0,"heading":"Ulster Scots Language","attachments":[],"groupedQuestionsDates":[]},"links":[{"rel":"self","href":"/Questions/1661855","method":"GET"}]}