§ Lord Joplingasked Her Majesty's Government:
What difficulties led to the delay of 15 weeks in answering the Lord Laird's written Question (HL3540), tabled on 29 June, when the target time for Answers is two weeks; and whether there have been any security incidents in Chichester Street, Belfast, during the intervening time. [HL4419]
§ The Lord President of the Council (Baroness Amos)I am informed by the Northern Ireland Office that due to a misunderstanding, this Question was not actioned properly for some weeks. Thereafter, a number of government agencies, independent from the Northern Ireland Office, had to be consulted in order to ensure that the Answer given to Lord Laird was accurate.
I can confirm that there have been no security incidents in Chichester Street since 29 June 2004.