asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Privy Seal on 9 January (

"To give further effect to the convention of Irish law" means "to give legislative effect to the convention of Irish law".I would recommend that if the noble Lord has any further Questions on this subject they should be addressed directly to the Department of Foreign Affairs, Iveagh House, St Stephens Green, Dublin 2.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Privy Seal on 21 January (

I refer the noble Lord to the Written Answer given on 9 December 2002 (Official Report, WA 1).Both the Employment Equality Act 1998 and the Equal Status Act 2000 are southern legislation. Neither Act requires employers to record information on each employee.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is the enrolment in each primary school in the local authority areas of Armagh City and District; and what were the equivalent enrolments at each primary school five years ago. [HL1493]

The information requested is as follows:

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many of the pupils at the Saints and Scholars Primary School at Armagh City are designated as (a) Protestant; (b) Roman Catholic; and (c) other. [HL 1520]

The information requested is as follows.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the Written Answers by the Lord Privy Seal on 17 December 2002 (

The Government have no plans to create a new cross-border body of the type mentioned, and the restoration and preservation of the artefacts at the Foyle Valley Railway Museum is, in the first instance, a matter for their respective owners. However, that does not prevent those involved with railway heritage on both sides of the border cooperating where there is a practical benefit to all parties.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Privy Seal on 4 February (

Ambulance service response time targets differ in Northern Ireland because NIAS does not currently have an appropriate methodology to support the disaggregation of emergency calls into the categories used by other UK ambulance services. However, NIAS is currently piloting a medical priority despatch system which will allow the adoption of GB targets. Once the pilot is evaluated, NIAS will seek to roll out the system across Northern Ireland as soon as possible.The requirement for UK ambulance services to meet their current response time targets was introduced by the Department of Health from April 2001.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What steps Northern Ireland Railways are proposing to take to improve the punctuality of the Enterprise train service between Belfast and Dublin. [H L1566]

Northern Ireland Railways advise that they continue to meet Iarnrod Eireann to resolve engineering issues that are impacting on punctuality of the Enterprise Service. Engineers have closely examined the performance of the locomotives over a two and a half year period. On the basis of this assessment Northern Ireland Railways and Iarnrod Eireann have agreed jointly to approach the suppliers of the locomotives with a view to having this unacceptable performance addressed.Work continues on the track to make good deficiencies which cause temporary speed restrictions to be introduced. At present there are three such restrictions on the Northern Ireland section of the Belfast to Dublin line.The volume of rail traffic on the approaches to Connolly Station in Dublin continues to cause delays for the Enterprise Service. Northern Ireland Railways are continuing to make representations to Iarnrod Eireann about this problem.

asked Her Majesty's Government:(a) why, more than a year after the end of major fighting, the nine British citizens held at Guantanamo (Cuba) and Bagram (Afghanistan) have not been either charged or released;(b) whether their future depends solely on the United States Government;(c) if so, why; and(d) whether it was correctly reported in some editions of

The US has said that the detainees are enemy combatants captured in a continuing armed conflict and held in that capacity by the US military authorities. The question of the status of the detainees at Guantanamo Bay under international humanitarian law has to be considered in the light of the facts relating to each individual detainee.We remain in regular contact with the United States, at both ministerial and official level, about the situation of the detainees. My right honourable friend the Foreign Secretary has raised the issue several times with US Secretary of State Colin Powell, most recently on 23 January. We have been encouraging the US to move forward with the process of determining the future of the British detainees. We shall continue to do so.The discussions between British officials and the detainees are confidential as they contain personal information about the detainees. I am withholding further details of the visits by British officials to the detainees at Guantanamo Bay under exemption la of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information, (information whose disclosure would harm national security or defence).

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is their current freedom of information policy and practice regarding the publication of legally privileged advice to government where such advice was given more than 30 years ago and concerns matters of legitimate public interest. [HL1274]

The current policy and criteria for extended closure or retention by a department of records more than 30 years old was set out in Chapter 9 and Annex C of the White Paper Open Government (CM 2290) in 1993. Records containing such advice are reviewed on their merits, and extended closure or retention is only sought where the information contained in the advice is, in itself, sensitive. In other cases the records are opened when they are 30 years old. This is in accordance with the provisions of the Public Records Acts 1958 and 1967.When the right of access under Section 1 of the Freedom of Information Act comes into force in January 2005, it will not be possible for information to be exempt from disclosure on grounds of legal professional privilege unless the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs that of disclosing the information. Furthermore, from then, information cannot be exempt from disclosure on grounds of legal professional privilege if it is contained in an historical record, (broadly speaking those which are more than 30 years old). However, other exemptions from the right of access may continue to apply depending on the content of the advice.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the Written Answer by Baroness Scotland of Asthal on 28 May 2002

The figures requested, to December 2002, are shown in the table below. 'The Legal Services Commission is unable to differentiate asylum from wider immigration cases but the majority of cases listed are thought to be asylum. All figures provided are provisional estimates and may be subject to year-end adjustments.The reason for the increased legal aid expenditure is that the number of asylum cases processed has substantially increased. Bills are paid after asylum applications have been processed so we are only now paying for work done in previous years.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What steps they are taking to help ensure that the accounts of the Commission of the European Union are kept in such a way that they can be successfully audited. [HL1473]

The Government agree with the European Court of Auditors that the Commission's accounting framework and systems are in need of reform. A major instrument to achieve this is the new Financial Regulation, which came into force in January 2003 and which the UK Government played a leading role in shaping. It requires general accounts and financial statements to comply with internationally accepted accounting principles. The Commission has now submitted a timetable for implementing the reform of its accounting framework and supporting IT systems: these are to be in place by 2005 as required by the Financial Regulation. When he reforms are complete, the accounts will be on an accruals basis and contain the information on assets and liabilities, including contingent assets and liabilities for which the European Court of Auditors has called. The Government will monitor this project closely and the Commission has promised to provide member states updates of progress every six months.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they intend to agree to Chapter 10 (Taxation) of the Special Arrangement obtained by Malta for her accession to the European Union; and, if so, whether that would lead to the United Kingdom imposing VAT on food and medicines by 1 January 2010. [HL1513]

The terms of Malta's accession agreement will make no difference to the UK's right to retain its zero rates. This right is enshrined in the provisions of the EC VAT Sixth Directive, which can only be altered with the unanimous agreement of all member states.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the Answer by Lord Whitty on 23 January (

There are already requirements in place which provide for the identification of deer before they are moved on to or off any premises. Identification should be carried out using an eartag that contains the official herd mark or the British Deer Farmers' Association registered mark. No carcass of any deer, other than wild deer, shall be moved off any premises unless it is identified.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the Written Answers by the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 13 January (

The first table shows the payments which have been made to eligible beneficiaries within the English Rural Development Programme, and which have been funded from the modulation receipts previously collected. The second table shows the total and projected amounts of modulation receipts collected.By its nature, modulation generates receipts for the member state in advance of expenditure being made. Funds collected through modulation will, however, be spent before the deadline for their use, together with an equivalent sum in national match-funding, in order to deliver environmental benefits through the agri-environment schemes.