§ Mr. Arnold Shawasked the Minister of Public Building and Works whether he has yet received the report of the independent committee which was appointed in 1966 to consider the arrangements for protecting the field monuments; and whether he will make a statement.
§ Mr. MellishYes. The Report of the Committee has today been laid before Parliament. I am most grateful to the Chairman, Sir David Walsh, and to the members of the Committee for their careful and thorough examination of the many difficult issues involved. The Report contains approximately 70 recommendations, many of them detailed and some complex. They affect not only a number of Government Departments but also local authorities and other bodies; and they involve extra expenditure, additional staff and some amendments to existing legislation. It will therefore take some little time to give these recommendations the very careful consideration they deserve; but I am in touch with my right hon. Friends and other interested parties and I shall announce our conclusions as soon as possible.