asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the Written Answer by Lord Whitty on 15 January (

There is no statutory duty of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission to apply the concept of sustainable development to its activities.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they concur with the opinion of those property consultants who advise that the site of the Millennium Dome is devalued by the building itself. [HL893]

The value of any proposal for the Dome site depends on a wide variety of issues, including, for example, the proposed use, the density of development in and around the Dome, the attitude of the local planning authority and the transportation constraints and implications.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How the European Union procurement rules will apply to the new competition for the sale of the Millennium Dome site; and what impact this will have on the timetable for the competition process. [HL896]

An announcement on the next stage in the process will be made shortly.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether A/K Protein Inc. have applied to the United States Food and Drug Administration to market genetically modified salmon which, if the application is approved, may lead to the use of "net pens in ocean waters"; and, if so, whether they will express concern to the United States Administration and to the North Atlantic Salmon Fisheries Organisation about the risk of irreversible damage to wild Atlantic salmon worldwide. [HL977]

We have asked the United States authorities to clarify the background on this issue and will consider the matter further in the light of the information they provide. We expect that any proposal to release genetically modified salmon will be assessed very carefully by the US authorities, and that they will only approve a release if it is not thought to pose an unacceptable risk to wild salmon stocks.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether a record has been kept of the National Insurance numbers and the names of those to whom they have been issued; how many National Insurance numbers have been issued; and whether they are cancelled when a holder dies. [HL809]

Records of National Insurance Numbers (NINOs), and the names to whom they were allocated, are retained for all NINOs allocated between 5 July 1948 and 5 April 1975.Details of all NINOs allocated since April 1975 are retained on the National Insurance Recording System (NIRS) computer. The NIRS computer system also contains a record of all NINOs allocated prior to April 1975.There are approximately 82 million NINOs and Child Reference numbers recorded on the Departmental Central Index (DCI). These include the records of those who have died, but whose contributions are the basis for benefit payments to surviving dependants, and foreign and EU nationals who have worked temporarily in the UK.When a customer dies, the date of death is recorded on both the NIRS and DCI records. This should ensure that the number cannot be used fraudulently once a date of death has been recorded.The Data Cleansing Project removed 182,000 National Insurance numbers (NINOs) during the last financial year—more than the whole of the last Parliament.The Data Cleansing Project will be stopped on 31 March; however the process of analysing our database to identify and remove inaccurate, duplicate and fraudulent NINOs will continue at current levels as part of our core business.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What representations the Department of Health have received from the Disabled Living Foundation in relation to the Government's plans for modernising community equipment services; what reply they are sending; and what action they will be taking. [HL1111]

Mr Nick Pelling, Director of the Disabled Living Foundation, is a member of the external reference group which advises and informs the Department of Health on progress toward implementing the community equipment aspects of the NHS Plan. In this capacity, he has been consulted on the forthcoming Department of Health guidance on community equipment services.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What was the outcome of the proceedings

On Friday 26 January the High Court ordered that the question of whether permission should be granted for Mr Bruno Quintavalle and the Pro-Life Alliance to bring a judicial review should be adjourned and considered at a full hearing to be held on or after 15 June. At the full hearing the court will decide whether the application should proceed. If this is permitted, the court will then go on to consider the substantive issues.The application concerns the Human Fertilisation and Embryology (Research Purposes) Regulations 2001., and the definition of 'embryo' in the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990.The House of Lords debated and approved the Human Fertilisation and Embryology (Research Purposes) Regulations on Monday 22 January.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they are aware that Gulf War veterans in the United States are not permitted to be blood donors; and what their advice is to British Gulf War veterans who might wish to become blood donors. [HL1032]

The United States did ban Gulf War veterans from donating blood from 1991 to 1993. The military health services were concerned that the veterans might have contracted Leishmaniasis while serving in the Middle East. In 1993 the ban was lifted.The National Blood Service does not exclude Gulf War veterans from donating blood. The UK blood services' guidance on eligibility to donate is drawn up by a Standing Advisory Committee on the Care and Selection of Donors. That committee reviews the criteria on a regular basis.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether, following the discovery of contaminated German beef, consignments of such beef are now being routinely spot-checked at all points of entry into the United Kingdom, including ports and airports; and [HL677]Whether, following the discovery of the fifth consignment of contaminated German beef in the United Kingdom, they are now inspecting every consignment, rather than spot-checking some of the imports. [HL678]

We are advised on questions of food safety by the Food Standards Agency (FSA). The Government are greatly concerned at the discoveries of imported German beef contaminated with Specified Risk Material which should, under European Union law, have been removed at the slaughterhouse. The FSA has taken up these problems vigorously with the European Commission and with the German authorities.Meat is part of the European single market, and may therefore circulate freely within the EU, without any requirement for border controls. Meat imported from another EU member state is subject to random checks at the point of destination within the United Kingdom. It would therefore be contrary to EU law to instigate border checks on imports of German beef.The FSA has taken action, by instructing the Meat Hygiene Service in Great Britain, and the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development in Northern Ireland, to check every single consignment of imported German carcass beef which arrives at a licensed meat plant in the UK. The FSA has also written to local authorities to advise them to step up their checks at those meat plants under local authority supervision which are likely to receive consignments of imported German beef. These instructions and advice were issued on 29 January, following the first discoveries of contaminated German beef.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What plans they have for the reappointments to the Armed Forces Pay Review Body. [HL1209]

We are pleased to announce that we have reappointed Lord Gladwin of Clee and Professor David Greenaway each to a second three-year term. These appointments have been conducted in accordance with the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments' guidance on appointments to pubic bodies.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What plans they have to review aircrew retention, following the publication of the 2001 Report of the Armed Forces Pay Review Body and the chairman's supplementary letter, published on 9 February 2001. [HL 1210]

The Ministry of Defence is conducting a Comprehensive Review of Aircrew Retention to examine the reasons why aircrew leave the Services. A study team including representatives from the three Services, HM Treasury and external consultancy will be reviewing our overall need for aircrew against today's employment patterns, their career structures, the flying training system, the current structure of additional flying pay and the commercial airlines' recruitment policies and financial packages. This work has now started and we expect to be able to report the outcome to the Armed Forces Pay Review Body in autumn this year.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether, should the United Kingdom wish to join the Single Currency, it would need to rejoin the Exchange Rate Mechanism, as laid down in the third of the four criteria in Article 121 of the European Treaty; and, if not, what alternative requirements for exchange rate stability have been indicated. [HL1049]

As my honourable Friend the Economic Secretary made clear at the Treasury Select Commitee meeting on 11 July 2000, the Government have no intention of rejoining the Exchange Rate Mechanism.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they consider that the number of barristers and solicitors in independent practice in England and Wales is excessive; and if so, why.[HL1006]

In a free society, the overall number of lawyers is a matter for the market to determine, not the Government. However, the Government, when purchasing services itself, is intent on achieving best value for money for the taxpayer. Lawyers are vital in ensuring access to justice for citizens, and especially the most needy in our society, and in underpinning a thriving economy. In addition, the legal services sector contributed 1.5 per cent to the Gross National Product and generated £1.5 billion in foreign earnings, thus adding to the economic prosperity of the country.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What are the current scales of remuneration for the chairmen of statutory tribunals in England and Wales; and what are the criteria on which the scales are based. [H L1007]

The current salary levels, and those which will apply with effect from 1 April 2001, for those full time tribunal chairmen in England and Wales who fall within the remit of the Senior Salaries Review Body (SSRB) are as follows:

Office	Salary wef 1 April 2000 (£)	Salary wef 1 April 2001 (£)
Social Security Commissioners	95,873	99,420
Vice-Presidents, Immigration Appeal Tribunal	95,873	99,420
Chairmen, VAT and Duties Tribunal	92,253	95,666
Member, Lands Tribunal	92,253	95,666
Special Commissioners for Income Tax	92,253	95,666
Chairmen, Appeal Service	76,921	79,767
Chairmen, Employment Tribunals	76,921	79,767
Immigration Adjudicators	76,921	79,767
President, Pensions Appeal Tribunals	76,921	79,767

Those office-holders in SSRB Group 7 (i.e. with a current salary of £76,921) who work in London also

receive additional allowances totalling £4,000. Different rates apply to those who hold higher level offices (e.g. regional chairmen of the Appeal Service, regional chairmen of employment tribunals, etc). Salary levels are determined in the light of the recommendations made by the SSRB, which takes account of all the factors which it considers to be relevant for this purpose. The current and new fee levels for the part-time tribunal chairmen for whom I have administrative responsibility are as follows:

Office	Daily fee wef 1 April 2000 (£)	Daily fee wef 1 April 2001 (£)
Chairman, Immigration Appeal Tribunal	436	452
Deputy Social Security Commissioner	436	452
Chairman, Banking Appeals Tribunal	419	435
Chairman, VAT and Duties Tribunal	419	435

Office	Daily fee wef 1 April 2000 (£)	Daily fee wef 1 April 2001 (£)
Chairman, Financial Services and Markets Tribunal	—	435
Deputy Member Lands Tribunal	419	435
Deputy Special Commissioner for Income Tax	419	435
Chairman and members, Pensions Appeal Tribunal	339	352
Chairman Transport Tribunal	350	363
Immigration Adjudicator	350	363
Legal Member, Immigration Services Tribunal	—	435

These figures are derived from the actual or imputed equivalent full-time salary levels. The fees of other part-time tribunal chairmen are determined, in accordance with the relevant statutory provisions, by the relevant Minister and are not collated centrally.