HC Deb 02 February 2000 vol 343 cc637-9W
Mr. McNamara

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what words form the declaration required as a condition of appointment to the Senior Bar in Northern Ireland; and what is his assessment of the compatibility of this requirement with(a) the Fair Employment Act, (b) the. Good Friday Agreement and (c) UN Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers. [107826]

Mr. Lock

Those called as Queen's Counsel in Northern Ireland are required to make the same declaration as is required of Queen's Counsel in England and WalesI, N., do sincerely promise and declare that I will well and truly serve Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second and all whom I may lawfully be called upon to serve in the office of one of Her Majesty's Counsel learned in the Law according to the best of my skill and understanding.

The second part of the question relates to a matter currently before the High Court in Northern Ireland, and it would therefore be inappropriate to comment at this stage.

Mr. McNamara

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many individuals have been called to the Bar in Northern Ireland in each of the past 10 years; and what was the perceived community affiliation of the intake in each year. [107824]

Mr. Lock

I understand from the Inn of Court of Northern Ireland that the numbers of individuals called to the Bar of Northern Ireland were:

Year Term Number called Total
1989 Hilary 4
Trinity 6
Michaelmas 24 34
1990 Trinity 7
Michaelmas 26 33
1991 Trinity 9
Michaelmas 22 31
1992 Hilary 2
Trinity 1
Michaelmas 22 25
1993 Hilary 3
Trinity 7
Michaelmas 23 33
1994 Hilary 1
Trinity 2
Michaelmas 36 39
1995 Trinity 4
Michaelmas 21 25
1996 Hilary 7
Trinity 6
Michaelmas 33 46
1997 Hilary 7
Trinity 3
Michaelmas 43 53
1998 Hilary 14
Michaelmas 36 50
1999 Hilary 13
Michaelmas 43 56

Information on the perceived community backgrounds is irrelevant and is not collected.

Mr. McNamara

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will list the dates of correspondence exchanged since January 1997 with the Northern Ireland Lord Chief Justice concerning appointments to the Senior Bar; and if he will place copies of correspondence in the Library. [107825]

Mr. Lock

This relates to a matter currently before the High Court in Northern Ireland and it would therefore be inappropriate to comment or to provide copies as sought at this stage.

Mr. McNamara

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will set out the procedures for nomination, selection and appointment of the Senior Bar in Northern Ireland; how many appointments have been made in each of the last 10 years; and what was the perceived community affiliation of the intake in each year. [107823]

Mr. Lock

The process of appointing Queen's Counsel relates to a matter currently before the High Court in Northern Ireland and it would therefore be inappropriate to comment. The nomination and selection process is one of open application, the applications received being considered alongside the views of consultees who comprise judges, the Northern Ireland Bar and Law Society of Northern Ireland. Selections are made on merit.

The number of Queen's Counsel appointed in Northern Ireland in the last 10 years are:

Year Number
1989 8
1990
1991
1992
1993 10
1994
1995
1996 13
1997
1998
1999 10

The call of members of other Inner Bars and calls Honoris Causa are not included.Information on the perceived community background of appointees is irrelevant and is not collected.

Mr. McNamara

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what consultation procedures were adopted following publication of the Elliott report in May 1997; what responses were made; and what conclusion he reached. [107827]

Mr. Lock

This relates to a matter currently before the High Court in Northern Ireland and it would therefore be inappropriate to comment at this stage.

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Pigs/organic Eastbrook Farm Organic Meats Ltd. Growing the organic pigmeat market from a UK production base
Pigs Food Trak plc Traceability in the pigmeat supply chain
Pigs JSR Farms Ltd. Integrated pigmeat supply initiative
Pigs Ladies In Pigs A catering college's initiative to secure the future for British pigmeat in catering
Pigs Meat and Livestock Commission Project 2: improving supply chain communications
Pigs National Pig Association A risk management initiative for UK pig industry
Pigs United Pig Marketing A shared IT and information system for UPM and its supply chain partners
Pigs University of Aberdeen A training package for the British pig industry using multi-media technology
Beef Glendale Beef Producers Glendale Beef Producers' initiative
Beef/dairy Warwickshire Quality Calves Improving the value of beef calves from the dairy herd
Dairy National Milk Records plc Proposal for a south west dairy information network
Dairy/organic Organic Milk Suppliers Co-operative Design and initial implementation of a novel technology transfer and quality management system on organic dairy farms
Dairy/speciality Business Link Bradford and District Feasibility study into potential for a yoghurt production facility in the Asian community
Eggs British Free Range Egg Producers Association British Free Range Egg Marketing Company Ltd.
Sheep British Sheep Dairying Association Implementation of structural development of the sheep dairy sector
Sheep/speciality Business Link Bradford and District New routes to new markets—investigation into ways of making better use of sheepmeat products to the benefit of producers
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Livestock general Assured British Meat Multiple retail caterers—food safety assurance module
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Livestock general Farmway Ltd. Marketing co-operatively produced branded pork, beef and lamb through 'Farmway' co-operative stores: a feasibility study
Livestock general Harper Adams University College Building regional enterprise and agricultural competitiveness through IT (Breakthrough-IT)
Livestock general Meadow Valley Livestock Ltd. Improving farmers' efficiency and returns by directing them to market led, added value marketing schemes
Livestock general South East Primestock Producers (SEPP) Ltd. A plan for regional growth and farmer
Livestock general/organic/speciality Humane Slaughter Association Mobile slaughter unit 2000
Nursery stock Horticultural Trades Association A project to influence structural change in the landscape supply chain to build value in the soft landscape market