§ Lord Kennetasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the recent announcement from the Department of Trade and Industry that they are to assist and encourage British industry in developing and supplying equipment to be used when looking for exploitable resources at sea indicates their intention to sign the 1982 Law of the Sea Convention.
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Trade and Industry (Lord Lucas of Chilworth)The programme on resources from the sea announced by the Minister for Industry and Information Technology on 24th January aims to develop a co-ordinated national programme of assistance and encouragement in the light of discussions with interested sectors of industry. The Department of Trade and Industry will continue actively to pursue the United Kingdom's interest in maximising the industrial benefit from work on marine resource technology through this and other initiatives. However, the United Kingdom did not sign the Law of the Sea Convention during the period for which it was open for signature because provisions contained in Part XI relating to deep-sea mining are not acceptable 929WA to Her Majesty's Government or to potential United Kingdom operators. Her Majesty's Government's policy remains to contribute constructively to the development of a universally acceptable convention through participation in the Preparatory Commission set up to give effect to Part XI.