asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether the recommendations concerning electoral law contained in paragraphs 16, 17, and 18 of the Northern Ireland Standing Advisory Commission on Human Rights Report for 1975–76 have been implemented; and whether they will legislate to amend the Electoral Law Act (Northern Ireland) 1962 so as to bring voting rights in Northern Ireland and Great Britain into complete alignment.

No legislation of the kind envisaged in the Commission's 1975–76 Report has been introduced, and the Government have at this time no plans for such legislation.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Which local authorities have undertaken reviews of Parish Charities for the poor under Section 11 of the Charities Act 1960, and, of these, which authorities have submitted their reports to the Charity Commissioners.

I am informed by the Charity Commissioners that reviews of Parish Charities for the poor under Section 11 of the Charities Act 1960 have been instituted in every county of England and Wales. Some were not completed, but the records do not show how many. Local authorities are not required to submit reports of their reviews: to establish those who have done so would involve disproportionate cost.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Why it is the practice of the Home Office not to make available copies of adjudication records in the prisons except to a solicitor in connection with a possible judicial review, and whether they will agree to provide such records to a Member of either House acting on behalf of a prisoner.

Records of adjudications are internal official documents which it is not Government policy to disclose other than in connection with posssible judicial proceedings. Accordingly they may be made available to the legal representative of a prisoner considering an application for judicial review, and to the Court undertaking that review. The answer to the second part of the question is no, unless the Member were a qualified lawyer acting in that capacity as the representative of the prisoner in question.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they agreed to the text of the Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons, which is to be opened for signature by the member states of the Council of Europe on 21st March 1983 at 15.00 hours in Strasbourg, and when they will introduce legislation enabling them to ratify the convention.

The text of the convention has been agreed at official level. We hope to decide shortly whether the United Kingdom should sign the convention. I cannot yet say when legislation could be introduced to enable the convention to be ratified.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Mr. Butt is the subject of a personal certification by my right honourable friend that his presence in the United Kingdom is not conducive to the public good. He was granted temporary admission in October 1982 to enable him, with the assistance of the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, to find a country of permanent settlement. I understand that these efforts are still continuing.