§ Sir Gerrard NealeTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will make a statement on the payment of commission to receivers of wreck in respect of historic material recovered from wrecks.
§ Sir George YoungI am pleased to be able to announce that further to the measures announced in the Government's response to the "Heritage at Sea" report on 20 December, my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Transport has agreed that receivers of wreck will no longer charge a commission of 7.5 per cent. of the value of any property delivered to them. It has also been decided that museums purchasing coins over 100 years old from receivers will not be required to pay that proportion of the price which has until now been retained by the Crown. Both these changes will be introduced for items recovered from wreck sites on or after 1 April next.