§ Mr. Biggs-Davisonasked the Secretary of State for Defence whether he will make a statement about proposals to alter the Commonwealth war graves in Malta.
§ Mr. BlakerI am not aware of any definite proposals to alter the Commonwealth war graves in Malta. In 1979 the Malta Government inquired about the possibility of concentrating the graves presently located in four service cemeteries into a single one of the four in order to release land for development. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission which, by agreement with the Malta Government, is responsible for the care and maintenance of the cemeteries, carried out a feasibility study whose results were communicated to the Malta Government in 1980. The Malta Government were then informed that the Governments participating in the CWCC, of which Her Majesty's Government are one, would be willing to negotiate the movement of war graves from any of the service cemeteries in Malta only on demonstration of an overriding and urgent public need for the land, and on condition that suitable arrangements were made for re-burial at the expense of the Malta Government. No further proposals have been received from the Malta Government.