§ Mr. McNamaraTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many written submissions were received by the Patten Commission; and if he will place these documents in the Library. [105475]
§ Mr. Ingram[holding answer 17 January 2000]: The number of written submissions received by the Patten Commission is a matter for the Commission itself which was independent of Government. In their Report (para 2.3 page 11) the Commission advised that they received approximately 2,500 individual written submissions in addition to a number of petitions signed by several thousand people and several standardised letters. The Government are not in possession of these submissions and are not in a position to place the documents in the Library.