§ Lord Lairdasked Her Majesty's Government:
When the agreement regarding the St Louis Order property, reported to the North/South Ministerial Council on 11 April 2002, was made; what form the agreement took; who were the parties to the agreement; who negotiated it; when it was negotiated; what the main provisions of the agreement were; and whether they will publish this agreement. [HL1356]
§ Baroness AmosThe agreement to purchase the St Louis Order property was made on 30 June 2004. This took the form of a legal conveyancing agreement between the two parties of the Middletown Centre for Autism (Holdings) Limited, a company limited by guarantee, and the St Louis Order. The purchase agreement was primarily negotiated by legal advisers and officials of the Departments of Education North and South, and was negotiated in the months prior to the purchase on 30 June 2004. The main provisions of the agreement were for the purchase of the property, which comprised the former St Joseph's Adolescent Centre and the former St Louis Primary School, a licence for access by the order to the graveyard on the site and a separate leaseback arrangement for the convent and the chapel on the site. As the agreement is between the above two parties the department will write to them in advance of making the agreement public to inform them of this, and I will then place a copy in the Library.