§ Mr. WatersonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will take steps to speed up the decontamination work at the Hayes records centre; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. BaldryThe decontamination work at the Public Record Office site, Hayes, started in late November 1993. As the separate storage areas in the two buildings are decontaminated they are being handed over progressively so that the records in them can be accessed, with priority being given to the records which are most urgently needed. Six of the eight areas in building A, which contains the MOD records, have already been completed and the building should be fully decontaminated by 4 March. Four of the eight areas in building Y had been completed and the aim is to complete the final area by 10 March. The work on building Y is a seven-days-a-week operation.