asked Her Majesty's Government:

Further to the Written Answer by Baroness Ashton of Upholland on 9 October (WA 8-9), which indicated that 56.7 per cent of the land area of England and Wales is currently registered, whether the present level of accuracy, transparency and comprehensiveness of information on land ownership is of the same standard as the information now available online in the Domesday Book. [HL11]

The purpose of the public Land Register for England and Wales is to facilitate land transactions. On behalf of the Crown, Land Registry guarantees title to registered estates and interests in land. The register is dynamic and is continuously updated as land ownership is transferred.

The Domesday Book was a one-off valuation and survey covering England only south of the Tees and a few Welsh border settlements. As such it represents a snapshot only and the information gathered was never officially updated centrally.

In terms of accuracy, transparency and comprehensiveness, it is not possible to compare standards between the Land Register and Domesday Book because of the difference in purpose and coverage.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Further to the Written Answer by Lord Triesman on 7 November (WA 130), whether they will now give the dates and cost of the visit by a member of staff from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and a member of staff from the Home Office to Nepal, with a separate estimate of the overheads incurred in planning the journey in both departments; and what public interest is served by this exercise. [HL301]

The visit took place between 20 and 23 November and cost in the region of £5,000. There is no specific estimate of overheads incurred in planning the journey, as only two officers were involved in the visit and the planning of such visits and meetings is considered an integral part of their jobs. It was an extremely useful exercise as it secured an explanation from the Nepalese authorities of their nationality law which had not been forthcoming hitherto despite several rounds of correspondence. It has therefore enabled the Home Office to obtain clarity and, once written confirmation of the position is received from the Nepalese, will greatly facilitate decision-making on the outstanding applications made under the British Nationality (Hong Kong) Act 1997.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they propose to move Civil Service jobs out of County Fermanagh over the next five years; and, if so, to where they will be moved, why they will be moved, and after what consultation. [HL209]

There are currently no plans to move Civil Service jobs out of County Fermanagh over the next five years although the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLNI) is currently reviewing its local office network. This review, which is for business and efficiency reasons, might impact on the five jobs in the Enniskillen office. There will be appropriate consultation with staff representatives. This reply is without prejudice to any decisions flowing from the establishment of the Water Service as a government-owned company with effect from 1 April 2007 and the implementation of the recommendations of the Review of Public Administration, which is underway.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether members of the Northern Ireland Civil Service are entitled to annual sick leave without a doctor's certificate; if so, how much sick leave they are entitled to; and what are the reasons for this entitlement. [HL145]

Within the Northern Ireland Civil Service (NICS) terms and conditions, there is no entitlement to annual sick leave.

Under a Cabinet Office Review, doctors are not required to provide a sickness absence certificate for an absence of less than eight calendar days. Therefore to comply with this, the NICS terms and conditions make provision for absences of up to seven calendar days to be self-certified by staff.

While there is no maximum limit as such on the total number of self-certified days, all sickness absence levels are closely monitored. Where departments believe that the facility is being abused, or used excessively, there is discretion to withdraw it. In the event of any future absences, staff would be required to provide at their own expense a doctor's statement as evidence of incapacity.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether civil servants in Northern Ireland who take smoking breaks outside their office complex are monitored to ensure that the number of hours per week for which they are contracted are worked. [HL210]

The Northern Ireland Civil Service (NICS) introduced a ban on smoking in all government premises with effect from 1 January 2005. The policy, as detailed in the NICS staff handbook, states that,

“leaving the premises to smoke will not be permitted outside of the lunchtime period taken by staff”.

In all cases, the time spent on lunch must be recorded.

Line management has a responsibility to ensure that staff adhere to the policy and any breaches of the ban may be dealt with in accordance with the conduct and discipline section of the staff handbook.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they have any proposals to ban Northern Ireland civil servants from smoking while in a static position within 50 yards of the entrance to public buildings. [HL273]

There are currently no such proposals under consideration.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they propose to move Civil Service jobs from the Strabane area of County Tyrone over the next five years; if so, where the jobs will move to; why the jobs will move; and what consultation will be undertaken. [HL271]

There are currently no plans to move Civil Service jobs out of the Strabane area of County Tyrone over the next five years.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

How much methane has been lost by leakage from gas transmission and distribution systems in the United Kingdom in each of the past four years; and what measures are in place to reduce the loss. [HL218]

The following information has been taken from the Digest of UK Energy Statistics 2006.

National Grid and the Independent Gas Network operators have plans to replace iron gas mains with polyurethane pipes, which will progressively reduce the loss from leakage and benefit the environment.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

How much nitrous oxide is emitted by the agricultural sector in the United Kingdom; and what policies are in place to reduce those emissions. [HL219]

Nitrous oxide emissions from agriculture between 1990 and 2004 are shown in the table below. These data are presented in million tonnes of carbon equivalent.

The use of inorganic nitrogen as a fertiliser is a major source of nitrous oxide emissions, which can also arise from manures during storage. A number of effective practical actions and technologies can be taken up by farmers to reduce the level of emissions. For example, these can help to: optimise the efficient use of fertilisers, reduce inorganic nitrogen use, and maximise the benefit of organic nitrogen. More efficient usage could also help to reduce farmers' costs.

The UK Climate Change Programme 2006 provides further information about greenhouse gas emissions from the agricultural sector and our policies for tackling them. This is available at: www.defra.gov.uk/environment/climatechange/uk/uk ccp/index.htm.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What measures are in place to prevent United Kingdom shell companies being used to conceal the facilitating of bribery and corruption overseas. [HL59]

The Government are fully committed to tackling all offences committed by individuals and all forms of business organisation.

The UK maintains an effective framework for business which balances the need to encourage enterprise and deter corruption, fraud and other types of misconduct. The Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 gives UK courts jurisdiction over corruption offences committed wholly overseas by UK nationals and by bodies incorporated under UK law. The Government recently provided resources for a new unit in the City of London Police Service to investigate allegations of foreign bribery. This will complement the work of the Serious Fraud Office, deter corruption and help bring prosecutions against corrupt individuals and companies.

In addition, the Government will shortly be introducing a range of new measures, among which are:

the third EU money laundering directive; implementation in the UK will require that all sectors under money laundering regulations must identify the beneficial owners of their customer if the customer is a legal entity or legal person. It will also require that all trust and company service providers are fit and proper persons and that these businesses are not run for criminal purposes. Further, it explicitly prevents banks and financial institutions doing transactions with banks with no physical presence and which are unaffiliated with a regulated financial group;

the creation by DfID of a new £100 million Governance and Transparency Fund, designed to help citizens hold their governments to account;

the provision of specialist resources to developing countries to investigate and prosecute corruption cases; and

the provision of technical assistance to establish effective anti-corruption practices under the UN Convention against Corruption.

Company law and its related enforcement regime tackles financial crime in a number of ways, particularly through requirements to publish accounts and powers to wind up companies and disqualify directors. The new Companies Act 2006 imposes important obligations on UK companies and their directors to behave responsibly. All directors are under a duty to act with appropriate care, skill and diligence. This applies to directors of a UK parent company who act as shareholder of an overseas subsidiary. In addition, the Act requires that at least one director of a company must be a natural person.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

In respect of adults, how many of the total offences brought to justice in each of the past five years were made up of penalty notices for disorder; prosecutions; court appearances; convictions; cautions; and formal warnings for the possession of cannabis; and [HL212]

In respect of juveniles, how many of the total offences brought to justice in each of the past five years were made up of penalty notices for disorder; prosecutions; court appearances; convictions; final warnings and reprimands. [HL213]

The information available for England and Wales is presented in the table.

It is not possible to break down the figures for offences taken into consideration and warnings for cannabis possession by the age of the offender. Prosecution and court appearance figures are not components of the offences brought to justice measure.

Information for Scotland is the responsibility of the Scottish Executive and information for Northern Ireland is the responsibility of the Northern Ireland Office.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether “no crime” designation under police logging arrangements for rape cases are entered into national statistics on rape. [HL202]

If an offence of rape is “no crimed” then that is reported monthly on the recorded crime return made to the Home Office. However, offences which have been “no crimed” do not feature in the recorded crime statistics published by the Home Office.

Once any offence has been recorded, it should be classified as a “no crime” only if one of the following criteria is satisfied: the crime was committed outside the jurisdiction of the police force in which it was recorded; where following the report of an incident which has subsequently been recorded as a crime, additional verifiable information is available which determines that no notifiable crime has been committed; if the crime, as alleged, constitutes part of a crime already recorded; if the reported incident was recorded as a crime in error.

Further explanation of the “no crime” principle is contained in Section C of the Home Office Counting Rules for Recorded Crime. A copy of the rules is available at www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs06/count general06.pdf.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they will publish statistics on the reporting of rape which identify the total number of accusations (a) treated as false accusations following an inquiry by the police; and (b) which are withdrawn by the accuser. [HL253]

Such statistics are not collected as part of the recorded crime series and there are currently no plans to do.

While there can be problems in ascertaining the number of false reports for any crime reported to the police, there is no evidence to suggest that a significant number of false allegations of rape are being made. Home Office Research Study 293, A Gap or a Chasm? Attrition in Reported Rape Cases published in 2005, which aimed to explore the issue of attrition in rape cases, also looked into the issue of false allegations. In-depth analysis of case files as part of the study indicated that approximately 3 per cent of cases reported to the police were false allegations. None of these cases got beyond the investigative stage of the criminal justice process. A copy of the research study is available at www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs05/hors293.pdf.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

In how many cases concerning rape referred by the Criminal Cases Review Commission to the Court of Appeal for review DNA has been taken or taken and retained relating to the accuser. [HL255]

I understand that the Criminal Cases Review Commission is unaware that it has dealt with any cases where DNA samples have been obtained from the alleged rape victim as part of the commission's investigation. A sample may, however, have been taken by the original investigators for elimination purposes.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What was the cost of the police operation in connection with the “Sack Parliament” demonstration on 9 October. [HL108]

I understand from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis that the estimated total policing cost was £298,000. Of this, £221,000 was for opportunity costs and £77,000 for additional policing costs.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

When, and in what form, they expect to publish the outcome of the review by the Department for Constitutional Affairs of electoral systems in the United Kingdom. [HL310]

The Government review of the experiences of the new UK voting systems introduced for the devolved administrations, the European Parliament and London Assembly elections, which is being conducted by officials within the DCA, is under way. Any decisions on any next steps, if necessary, will be taken in due course.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether any of the provisions of the Aarhus convention have yet to be implemented in (a) the European Union, and (b) the United Kingdom. [HL105]

The Aarhus convention sets out a range of obligations on access to information, public participation and access to justice in environmental matters. The list of ratifications, including those of the European Community and its member states, is at www.unece.org/env/pp/ctreaty.htm.

When the UK ratified the convention in February 2005, the Government published a detailed explanation of how they considered the EU and the UK complied with these obligations at the time, including under requirements imposed under common Community measures. This information can be found at www.defra.gov.uk/environment/internat/aarhus/pdf/compliance-summary.pdf.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What plans they have to extend the regulation of estate agents. [HL208]

The Consumers, Estate Agents and Redress Bill (introduced on 16 November 2006) will improve the regulation of estate agents in the United Kingdom by requiring estate agents to make and keep adequate records. It will also give the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) and local trading standards officers wider powers to inspect records where they have reasonable cause to suspect that an offence has been committed under the Estate Agents Act 1979 or that a person has committed other breaches under the Act. This will make it easier for enforcers to identify serious misconduct by estate agents and to take appropriate action against them. The Bill will also expand the circumstances in which the OFT can consider the fitness of estate agents to practise and consequently take regulatory action against them.

In addition, this Bill will enable the Government to make it compulsory for all estate agents in the United Kingdom to belong to an OFT-approved redress scheme, ensuring that buyers and sellers of residential property have a means of redress when they have a legitimate grievance against an estate agent.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether any illegal extraordinary rendition flights organised by United States agencies and others are occurring over United Kingdom airspace. [HL290]

I refer the noble Lord to the Written Ministerial Statement made by my right honourable friend the then Foreign Secretary (Jack Straw) in another place on 20 January 2006 (Official Report, cols. 37-38WS). The position has not changed.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What plans they have to promote the concept of fair trade in Northern Ireland. [HL283]

The Government fully support the concept of fair trade. As part of the Government’s commitment, they plan to host a reception at Hillsborough Castle for representatives of local government and non-governmental organisations which will promote fair trade.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What plans they have to increase training for those in Northern Ireland who organise community festivals. [HL55]

The Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure is currently considering a proposal from the Northern Ireland Events Company to provide additional training for community festival organisers.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Further to the Written Answer by Lord Sainsbury of Turville on 16 October (WA 174), what proportion of the £20,000 to £25,000 spent by the Medical Research Council on reviews of research into Gulf War illnesses was spent on, or in connection with, the one-day meeting held in London on 27 January 2003; and [HL110]

Further to the Written Answer by Lord Sainsbury of Turville on 16 October (WA 174), which individuals represented the Royal British Legion and the Gulf War Veterans and Families Association at the meeting on 27 January 2003 arranged by the Medical Research Council; and whether the organisers considered inviting Professor Malcolm Hooper and Dr Norman Jones to assist with the review of relevant research into Gulf War illnesses. [HL111]

The information requested falls within the responsibilities of the Medical Research Council. Professor Blakemore, the chief executive of the MRC, has written to me regarding this matter. An extract from his letter is given below.

“In 2003, the MRC, through our Military Health Research Advisory Group (MHRAG), conducted a comprehensive review of relevant research into Gulf Veterans’ illness. As Lord Sainsbury outlined in a written answer to the Countess of Mar on 30 October 2006, the review involved a one-day closed scientific meeting between the MHRAG and a number of scientists from the UK and overseas. This was followed on the next day by a separate private meeting of the MHRAG to apprise the MRC of scientific progress, of the potential for gaining further knowledge and of research needs, and of what the likely medical issues might be. As reported by Lord Sainsbury, in a written answer to a question from Lord Morris of Manchester, we estimated the cost of the review to be between £20,000 and £25,000. This estimate related to the closed scientific meeting, the MHRAG meeting the following day, and the publication of the report.

We of course publish the memberships of our Council and standing advisory Boards/Committees; and the membership of the MHRAG is recorded in the published review. However, it is not the MRC's practice to release into the public domain the names of individuals who either attended, or who may, or may not, have been considered as participants, in closed ad-hoc scientific meetings. If we felt there was a particular reason to make names public, we would make that clear in the letters of invitation. In the case of this scientific meeting, we did not do that. For what I hope are obvious reasons, we would never make public the names of individuals whom we had considered inviting to join a particular committee or meeting, but whom we subsequently decided not to invite. I am therefore not in a position to respond to the Countess of Mar's second question”.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

When the Medical Research Council reached the recently reported view that further research into Gulf War illness may not be worthwhile; and on what date and in what form this view was explained to veterans from the 1991 Gulf War who are suffering medically unexplained illnesses and bereaved families of Gulf War veterans. [HL332]

The information requested falls within the responsibilities of the Medical Research Council. Professor Blakemore, the chief executive of MRC, has written to me regarding this matter. An extract from the letter is enclosed.

“As you are aware, the MRC, through our Military Health Research Advisory Group (MHRAG), last conducted a comprehensive review of relevant Gulf research in 2003. The MRC has not changed its view from that presented in the published report the ‘MRC review of research into UK Gulf veterans' illnesses', and never stated that ‘further research into Gulf War Illness may not be worthwhile’.

I believe that this question may have resulted from an error in the minutes of a meeting of the Royal British Legion's (RBL) Gulf War Group on 5 September 2006. At the meeting, I understand that Ministry of Defence (MoD) officials reminded the Group of the MHRAG's 2003 findings that;

‘Further studies to characterise symptoms and illnesses of UK GVs based on self-reported exposures are not necessary and epidemiological studies of existing data are unlikely to lead to greater understanding’; and that

‘Further research aimed at improving the long-term health of GVs with persistent symptoms should take priority’.

The discussion of this issue was mis-recorded in the RBL minutes as ‘ ... further research into the causes of Gulf War illnesses was probably not worthwhile’. I understand that the MoD has informed the RBL of the error.”

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether in the interests of patient safety doctors and nurses from other European Union member states are required to demonstrate their competence in the English language before working in the community or in hospitals in the United Kingdom. [HL214]

The department's code of practice for the international recruitment of healthcare professionals, which covers recruitment from inside and outside the European Economic Area, emphasises that,

“all international healthcare professionals will have the appropriate level of English language to enable them to undertake their role effectively.”

In addition, National Health Service employers’ guidance makes clear that,

“it is important to remember that all international healthcare professionals need to demonstrate their communication skills ... the employer should satisfy themselves of a candidate's ability to communicate to the required standard for the post”.

All applicants for foundation programmes or specialty registrar training opportunities will be required to demonstrate competence in the English language.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

How many people were being detained under immigration laws in (a) prisons, and (b) immigration detention centres on the first day of each month in 2006 to date. [HL300]

Information on persons detained is published in the Quarterly Asylum Bulletin, on the Home Office Research Development and Statistics Directorate website at www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html.

As a result of a change in working practices in IND, statistics on persons detained in Prison Service establishments solely under Immigration Act powers are not available for quarter two and quarter three of 2006. Currently, and over forthcoming months, we are working on analysis of data sources held by IND and the National Offender Management Service to formulate a robust collation method for production of these statistics in future.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What is the community background of the employees of InterTradeIreland. [HL285]

At 1 November 2006 InterTradeIreland, the Trade and Business Development Body, employed 40 permanent staff. The community background of these staff has been identified as:

33 Roman Catholic

6 Protestant

1 Non-determined

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they will formally request the International Committee of the Red Cross to reconvene the Conference of High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention to consider how international humanitarian law should be implemented in the occupied Palestinian territories. [HL276]

We have no plans to request this. There have already been emergency special sessions of the Human Rights Council and the UN General Assembly.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they have made representations to the Government of Israel concerning the positioning of the security wall in relation to existing settlements, together with the difficulties that Palestinian owners and their employees experience in gaining access to their land, situated east of the 1967 green line, but west of the wall and barrier; and what conclusions they draw. [HL281]

We remain extremely concerned at the effect the routing of the barrier has on freedom of movement for Palestinians. The barrier should be built on or behind the green line, not on occupied territory. Our ambassador in Tel Aviv most recently raised our concerns about the routing of the barrier with the Israeli Government on 10 October.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they have assessed the impact of the Prime Minister's video-link conference with the Iraq Study Group on 14 November on the attitude by the Government of the United States towards support for both Palestine and Israel. [HL157]

We have made no such assessment.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they have made representations to the Government of Israel about the case of Mr Ziyad Muhammad Shehadeh Hmeidan, a field worker for the Al-Haq organisation, arrested on 23 May 2005 and since detained without charge, in Ansar III detention centre; and, if not, whether they will do so. [HL280]

We have not made any representations to the Government of Israel concerning Mr Ziyad Muhammad Shehadeh Hmeidan. However, we continue to monitor the situation with regard to all Palestinian prisoners held in administrative detention. We will continue to raise our concerns with the Israeli authorities.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) currently has access to Israeli prisons and detention centres in Israel and the West Bank. The ICRC monitors conditions in Israeli prisons on a regular basis. An official from our embassy in Tel Aviv raised our concerns about administrative detention with the Israeli prison service on 15 November.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they have received any representations relating to the desecration or destruction of Christian churches in Kosovo. [HL244]

The British office in Pristina has regular contact with the Serb Orthodox Church about reconstruction of churches in Kosovo. The Reconstruction Implementation Commission, which oversees restoration of Serb Orthodox churches, has noted that €2.3 million was spent during 2006 on reconstruction of seven sites and that the reconstruction effort on 18 sites of 35 should be complete by the end of 2007. We have received no representations from denominations other than the Serb Orthodox Church.

The Government have regular discussions with all levels of the Kosovo Government on implementing UN endorsed standards.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Further to the Written Answers by Lord Bassam of Brighton on 24 October (WA 231) and 2 November (WA 66), whether they will now reconsider their Answer to the original Question asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon (HL7569) concerning attendance of Ministers at the Bilderberg Conference in Ottawa between 8 and 11 June. [HL268]

Details of whether any Cabinet Ministers attended the conference in an official capacity will not be known until the annual list of Cabinet Ministers' overseas travel for 2006-07 is published as soon as possible after the end of the financial year.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

When they expect to have all the costing for Rally Ireland in 2005 and 2006. [HL269]

It is anticipated that the details of the costing for the 2005 and 2006 Rally Ireland events will be with the Northern Ireland Events Company by the end of November 2006. Subject to verification of the costing, the Northern Ireland Events Company will thereafter forward details to the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

How they will respond to European Union Commissioner Verheugen's paper to cut red tape in the European Union by 25 per cent by 2012; and to German Chancellor Merkel's proposal for the German presidency in 2007 to promote better European Union regulation and introduce debureaucratisation for small firms. [HL137]

The UK broadly supports the Commission's ambitions for a 25 per cent reduction in administrative burdens. This would make a significant contribution to improving the competitiveness of EU businesses. We also welcome the German Chancellor's commitment to making further progress on better regulation during Germany's presidency of the EU next year. The UK will continue to work with the Commission, other member states and the European Parliament to deliver on this agenda. We will also continue to encourage the Commission and Council to ensure that small and medium enterprises, which are most affected by legislation, feel the immediate benefits of this ambitious drive to improve the regulatory environment across the EU.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

When they expect to resolve the employment status of the former chief executive of the Rural Payments Agency. [HL115]

We have been working to resolve the employment status of the former chief executive of the Rural Payments Agency. We hope to bring this matter to a conclusion in the very near future.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What assessment they have made of the implications which the assassination of Anna Politkovskaya and the poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko may have for future co-operation between Russian and United Kingdom security services. [HL331]

The Government were saddened to hear of the recent deaths of Anna Politkovskaya and Alexander Litvinenko. Our thoughts are with their families, friends and colleagues at this time. The Russian Procuracy General has opened an investigation into the circumstances surrounding Ms Politkovskaya’s murder and the Metropolitan Police are currently investigating the unexplained death of Mr Litvinenko. We await the outcomes of these investigations.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether, following the depiction of a red squirrel on the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s Christmas card, they propose to increase commitment and the availability of additional funding to the work being done to save the native red squirrel in the United Kingdom. [HL297]

The inclusion of a red squirrel on the Chancellor’s Christmas card is of no significance to our considerable efforts to preserve the red squirrel, other than to remind us how much the red squirrel is appreciated.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether the issue of increased funding for victims was a feature of the St Andrews agreement of 2006; and, if so, what was agreed. [HL53]

The issue of increased funding for victims is not a feature of the St Andrews agreement.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether the retention of academic selection in Northern Ireland was a feature of the St Andrews agreement of 2006; and, if so, what was agreed. [HL56]

Although the Government's clear view is that abolishing academic selection would be in the best interests of education and the economy in Northern Ireland, they have accepted that the final decision on this matter should rest with local political parties, provided there is an early restoration of the Assembly. The Education (Northern Ireland) Order 2006 therefore provided that the Assembly would be able to vote on the issue if it was restored by 24 November 2006.

In the context of the St Andrews agreement, the Government decided that, provided the Northern Ireland political parties had endorsed the agreement by 10 November, they would amend the Education (Northern Ireland) Order 2006 to reflect the revised target date of March 2007 for restoration of the Assembly.

On 10 November, my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland announced that the Government would proceed to ensure full implementation of the St Andrews agreement. The Northern Ireland (St Andrews Agreement) Act includes a provision amending the Education (Northern Ireland) Order 2006 to enable the Assembly to vote on academic selection if devolution has been restored by 28 March 2007. If devolution has not been restored by that date, the provisions of the Education (Northern Ireland) Order 2006 which prohibit academic selection will come into force immediately and take effect in relation to admissions after 31 July 2010.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether the date for devolution of policing and justice to a Northern Ireland Executive was a feature of the St Andrews agreement of 2006; and, if so, what was agreed. [HL58]

Paragraph 7 of the St Andrews agreement made clear that it was the view of the British and Irish Governments that the implementation of that agreement should be sufficient to build the community confidence necessary for the Assembly to request the devolution of policing and criminal justice by May 2008.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether the St Andrews agreement of 2006 is binding in international law; and whether it has the same status as the 1998 Belfast agreement. [HL147]

I refer the noble Lord to the Answer I gave on 7 November 2006 (Official Report, WA 149).

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they have proposals to cease using tribunals held in secret to handle terrorist suspect cases. [HL41]

We have no proposals to cease using closed evidence in tribunals against suspected terrorists. It is essential that we are able to use sensitive material—primarily intelligence—to inform decisions to take action against individuals and organisations involved in terrorism, in particular for some decisions involving control orders, deportation, exclusion, proscription of a terrorist organisation and deprivation of British citizenship. The special advocate procedure represents a fair and effective way for an individual to challenge such decisions.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Why the recruitment advertisements which were placed in the Belfast Telegraph on 17 November for the Water Service in Northern Ireland did not outline the range of salaries and conditions concerned. [HL288]

The chief executive of Water Service (Katharine Bryan) has written to the noble Lord in response to this Question.

Letter from Katharine Bryan to Lord Laird.

You recently asked Her Majesty's Government why the recruitment advertisements which were placed in the Belfast Telegraph on 17 November for the Water Service in Northern Ireland did not outline the range of salaries and conditions concerned (HL206). As this issue falls within my responsibility as chief executive of Water Service, I have been asked to reply.

The advertisement sought to maximise the interest in these roles which are critical to the delivery of a more efficient approach to provision of water and sewerage services. The information packs for the posts give a clear indication of the salary levels.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

How many hours per day young prisoners in HM Young Offender Institution, Portland spend taking exercise in the open air; and [HL292]

How much of young prisoners' time in the open air at HM Young Offender Institution, Portland is accounted for by walking between different parts of the establishment; and [HL293]

How often in the past 12 months the care and control unit (segregation unit) in HM Young Offender Institution, Portland has been used to house young prisoners who are mentally ill; and [HL294]

How often in the past 12 months the care and control unit (segregation unit) in HM Young Offender Institution, Portland has been used to house young prisoners who self-harm; and [HL295]

How many mentally disturbed young prisoners in HM Young Offender Institution, Portland have been removed on a temporary basis to an adult prison for the purpose of constant observation in the past 12 months. [HL296]

Approximately one hour is spent in the open air, per day per prisoner of which approximately half an hour is spent walking to work-related activities.

The care and control unit was used on 29 occasions over the past 12 months to house young prisoners with mental health issues, and on 25 occasions over the past 12 months to house young prisoners who have self-harmed.

Four prisoners have been removed on a temporary basis to adult prisons for the purpose of constant observations in the past 12 months.