§ Mr. Nicholas Brownasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement regarding the prospects for preliminary talks next year with the East German Government in respect of compensation payments for British citizens whose homes and land were confiscated by the Nazis in the 1930s and early 1940s and are now in East Germany.
§ Mr. WhitneyWe have been holding negotiations with the Government of the German Democratic Republic on British claims since 1978. The most recent round of discussions took place in March this year. Considerable progress has been made at these talks, which have been concerned with the discussion of individual claims. It is expected that this stage of the negotiations will be completed at a further round of talks scheduled for October. We hope that the October talks will lead to a plenary session early next year at which matters of principle will be discussed.