§ Mr. BowisTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will bring forward proposals to regulate further the use of metal detectors to discover items of historical or archaeological interest; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. TrippierMy noble Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State announced on 13 December 1989, in another place, the Government's intention to amend at a suitable opportunity the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 so as to make it an offence to remove, without consent, any item of historical or archaeological interest from the site of a scheduled ancient monument, and to consider less formal measures relating to finds made on unscheduled sites. The unauthorised use of metal detectors is already prohibited on scheduled sites. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has no plans to further regulate the use of metal detectors.