§ Mr. McNamaraTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland which estate agents and surveyors were involved in the identification and sale of the Seapark Complex at any stage; to whom commissions were paid; and what was the amount. [29964]
§ Mr. Ingram[holding answer 23 February 1998]: No estate agents or surveyors were involved in the identification and sale of the Seapark Complex. The Valuation and Lands Agency act for and on behalf of the Police Authority in such matters and it is not possible to segregate the fee paid as the charge levied by the Valuation and Lands Agency was part of an annual fee.
§ Mr. McNamaraTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if she will place in the Library copies of the(a) correspondence, (b) surveys, (c) contracts, (d) minutes of the Police Authority and (e) other relevant material concerning the purchase, development and subsequent asbestos problems at the Seapark Complex. [29216]
§ Mr. Ingram[holding answer 23 February 1998]: The correspondence, surveys, contracts, minutes and other relevant material requested contain information which should not be disclosed for security reasons. Therefore the information requested will not be placed in the Library.
§ Mr. McNamaraTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland who signed the contract on 4 March 1988 on behalf of the Police Authority for Northern Ireland for the purchase of the Seapark Complex, Carrickfergus; if the Common Seal was applied; and if the transaction was numbered and recorded in the book provided. [29215]
§ Mr. Ingram[holding answer 23 February 1998]: A Senior Official of the Police Authority for Northern Ireland signed the contract for the purchase of the Seapark Complex. The Common Seal was not applied as there was no provision nor requirement to do so for this type of transaction. Transactions are numbered and recorded only where the Common Seal has been applied.
§ Mr. McNamaraTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland which members of the Police Authority declared a pecuniary or other interest in the purchase of the Seapark Complex between 1986 and 1989. [29217]
§ Mr. Ingram[holding answer 23 February 1998]: Mr. T. Rainey, the then Chairman of the Police Authority for Northern Ireland (and former Managing Director of Rothmans International Tobacco (UK) Ltd.) declared an interest in the Authority's considerations relating to the purchase of Seapark.
§ Mr. McNamaraTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland for what reasons professional surveys carried out at the Seapark Complex before purchase by the Police Authority failed to reveal the presence of an asbestos problem. [29218]
198W
§ Mr. Ingram[holding answer 23 February 1998]: Professional surveys carried out at Seapark prior to its purchase by the Police Authority indicated the presence of asbestos based materials in a number of areas within the complex. The survey concluded that in the majority of cases the material did not constitute a hazard to health and could remain until such times as planned building works required its removal. In those cases where the material was considered to constitute a hazard to health, it was removed.
§ Mr. McNamaraTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if she will list the cost and remit of each of the professional, architectural, structural, mechanical and electrical surveys carried out before the purchase of the Seapark Complex; and what steps are being taken to establish the reasons for the failure to identify the subsequent problems with asbestos material. [29219]
§ Mr. Ingram[holding answer 23 February 1998]: In February 1987 the Police Authority commissioned the Department of the Environment to carry out an urgent property condition report on the Rothmans Carreras Factory at Seapark. The Police Authority indicated that it would be content to receive a report based on preliminary findings relating to the condition of the property, both architecturally and structurally, and on the standard of mechanical and electrical services.
The presence of asbestos material was recorded in the initial condition survey and all subsequent decisions took this into account.