§ 22. Mr. Dalyellasked the Lord Privy Seal if he will make a statement on the latest position of the United Nations Conference of the Law of the Sea in relation to international agreement on the exploitation of seabed resources, particularly the establishment of consortia working on plans for mining manganese nodules.
§ Mr. HurdThe resumed eighth session of the conference, from 19 July to 24 August, will attempt to reach agreement on an internationally acceptable regime for the exploitation of deep seabed resources. Such a regime would give assured access to manganese nodules for private companies and consortia, among others. Three British companies are members of one of these consortia.