To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Northern Ireland Office paid taxes in respect of members of the Northern Ireland Parades Commission up to 2005; and whether it at any stage expected the board members also to pay taxes. [HL132]

No. Following a routine inspection by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and clarification of the commissioners' status a payment was made by the department to HMRC to meet the department's liability in respect of tax and national insurance contributions from 1997-2005. The department cannot comment on individuals’ tax position but has no reason to believe that individual parades commissioners have not paid their respective individual tax and national insurance contributions for the same period.