§ Mr. Andrew MitchellTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he now expects to respond to the recommendations of the Joint Nautical Archaeology Policy Committee's report, "Heritage at Sea".
§ Mr. TrippierWe have responded today, and I am placing copies in the Library of the House.
In response to the report, we have already announced two main changes. These were set out in the White Paper, "This Common Inheritance". The first is the transfer of responsibility for the protection of historic wrecks in English waters from the Department of Transport to the Department of the Environment. This will bring together control of archaeology on land with that under water. Similar transfers will take place in relation to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The second is the preparation of a central record of historic wrecks by the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England. The commission in Scotland will be asked to take on a similar responsibility. In Wales, the Welsh Office will be reviewing the new work with the Royal Commission on Ancient and Historical Monuments in Wales.
In the fuller response made today, we say that we are ready to develop, in discussion with the organisations concerned, a code of practice for sea-bed operators whose activities could affect wreck sites. We are also willing to exercise Government powers of ownership, where these can be established, in favour of conserving wreck sites and the artefacts recovered from them. We will consider sympathetically applications for special grant for the development of diver training in the skills required for underwater archaeology. We also make a commitment to make the best of existing salvage reporting arrangements to encourage important finds to be properly conserved and displayed.
The Government do not accept that there is a need for a new agency or legislation, but we intend to make the best use of the powers and resources available in the interests of conservation, and to review these matters once the new allocation of responsibilities has had time to take effect.
The Government are grateful to the joint committee for its work and hopes to have the benefit of its expertise and advice again on these matters in future.