asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether consideration is being given to establishing a Human Rights Agency in Northern Ireland, which would bring together existing institutions such as the Parliamentary Commissioner, the Commissioner for Complaints, the Fair Employment Agency, the Police Complaints Board, the Standing Advisory Commission on Human Rights, and which could consider not only individual rights, but also rights and responsibilities of groups and communities.

The Government have no plans for making changes in the institutional arrangements designed to protect human rights in Northern Ireland, but they keep them under review.The Chairman of the Standing Advisory Commission on Human Rights recently informed my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland that the commission will be undertaking as a priority a major study to examine the adequacy and effectiveness of existing laws and institutions in securing freedom from discrimination and furthering equality of opportunity in Northern Ireland. The study would include the detailed examination of the provisions of the Northern Ireland Constitution Act 1973, the legislation which established the offices of the Northern Ireland Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration and Commissioner for Complaints, and the Fair Employment Agency, as well as the relevant responsibilities of such bodies as the Northern Ireland Housing Executive and of the commission itself. The Government share the commission's commitment to further human rights in the interests of all the people of Northern Ireland. The Government therefore welcome and support the commission's decision to undertake the proposed study, and look forward to receiving its report on this subject.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will arrange for an independent review of the law and practice concerning the use of firearms by the security forces in Northern Ireland.

The Government are not persuaded of the need for such a review.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What progress they are making in implementing the recommendations of Sir George Baker arising from his review of the Emergency Provisions Act

(Northern Ireland) dated March 15th 1984, and whether they will make a statement detailing (

The Government are formulating detailed proposals in response to Sir George Baker's recommendations and hope to be able to announce their conclusions in the coming months. It is not yet possible to say which of their proposals will require legislation.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many times the Northern Ireland Assembly has met.

Up to 5th March there have been 162 Assembly meetings.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is the average attendance at meetings of the Northern Ireland Assembly.

No record is maintained of numbers of members present at sittings of the Northern Ireland Assembly.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What are the maximum allowances at present for Members of the Northern Ireland Assembly, and what is the average amount claimed by each Member.

Assembly Members are eligible for the following allowances in addition to their salaries:Travel:

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will recommend to all police authorities and chief constables that special constables should play a full part in the setting up and supervision of neighbourhood watch schemes.

The deployment of special constables is a matter for the chief constable, but the guidance on the implementation of neighbourhood watch schemes issued to chief constables last July by the Home Office Crime Prevention Unit in collaboration with the Crime Prevention Centre, Stafford drew attention to the contribution which special constables have made to such schemes.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will ensure that people applying for a licence to kill cormorants to protect fisheries receive advice on the deterrence of cormorants as well.

In England and Wales, the position is that deterrent advice is, and will continue to be, offered to applicants for licences to kill cormorants. In Scotland the situation is different. The cormorant problem occurs on river systems, and the use of deterrents would only serve to move the birds on to another part of that system. Normally, therefore, deterrent advice would not be offered and any application to kill cormorants would be considered on that basis alone.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will confirm that if a member of a precept-capped authority votes for a precept below the maximum prescribed in the Rate Limitation (Prescribed Maximum) (Precepts) Order 1985 he is still complying with his duties as a councillor.

Generally it is the duty of each individual member of a local authority to ensure that, as far as it lies in his power to do so, the authority complies with the law.Under the General Rate Act 1967 and the Rates Act 1984 every local authority has a duty to make a rate or issue a precept which, subject to any maximum limit fixed, under the 1984 Act, is sufficient to meet its estimated expenditure and contingencies which cannot be met by other means.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will state, given the Prime Minister's comment on 26th February [Commons

The great majority of observers including our own official observers judged the Salvadorean elections to have been an adequate means of allowing the people a free choice of their preferred candidate for president. We considered the Nicaraguan elections as flawed because of the conditions of the campaign. There were reports that, over a period of many months, the opposition parties were effectively intimidated and often physically harassed. Many observers referred to the control and censorship of the media.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they have noted the decision of the New Zealand Government to prohibit the presence of nuclear weapons on their territory and the calling at their ports of any warship carrying nuclear weapons: and whether they will initiate a similar policy for the United Kingdom and urge other governments to do so for their territories by moving a recommendation at the Security Council of the United Nations.

We are well aware of the New Zealand Government's views on these issues but we have no intention of initiating similar policies or of urging other countries to do so in the manner proposed by the noble Lord.

to ask Her Majesty's Government:On what dates applicants for immigration special quota vouchers who were invited for interview in January, February, March and April 1985 respectively first applied, in the main queue and the priority queue respectively, and what was the total number of applications outstanding in India and elsewhere respectively at the latest convenient date.

Details are as follows:

asked Her Majesty's Government:To what extent the funds of each university, polytechnic and college of higher education have been enhanced by closer connection with industry.

The information published yearly by the Universities' Statistical Record now shows for each university direct income from industrial and commercial research grants and contracts. In the academic year 1982–83 this was as follows:—

asked Her Majesty's Government:

The most recent annual figures are for 1983 and show a total of 526 deaths recorded on the Mesothelioma Register. The detailed figures requested were: