§ Mr. DalyellTo ask the Minister for the Arts if he will publish in theOfficial Report the text of the letter from Mr. Neil Chalmers, director of the natural history museum to him, dated 2 February, concerning the Export of Goods (Control Order) 1987.
§ Mr. Luce[holding answer 2 March 1990]: I have today laid in the Library of the House a copy of the letter of 2 February to me from Mr. Neil Chalmers, director of the natural history museum.
§ Mr. DalyellTo ask the Minister for the Arts what action he will take to make it possible for "Lizzie", a 340 million-year-old fossil, to remain in Britain; and if he will urgently bring forward an amendment order to the Export of Goods (Control) Order 1987 to bring natural objects such as fossils within its ambit.
§ Mr. Luce[holding answer 2 March 1990]: Statutory responsibility for export licensing rests with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry. Any amendment to Export of Goods (Control) Orders, the latest of which is SI 1989/2376, is therefore a matter for the Secretary of State. However, I have asked the reviewing committee on the export of works of art, which advises me on such matters, to submit recommendations about the export control of natural heritage items, so that I can advise my right hon. Friend on this matter.