§ Q206. Sir David PriceTo ask the Prime Minister in view of the ninth report of the Select Committee on Defence entitled "The Availability of Merchant Shipping228W for Defence Purposes: July 1989", what steps she intends to take to reverse the decline in British merchant ships available for defence purposes.
§ Sir Geoffrey HoweI have been asked to reply.
The Government have already introduced a number of measures to help the merchant shipping industry. The effects of the Government's measures depend to a large extent on the practical response of the industry, which the Government await with interest.