§ Mr. TrotterTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps he intends to take with regard to the regeneration of north Tyneside following the decision on the Sir Bedivere contract.
§ Mr. BaldryThe Government fully appreciate the concern on Tyneside over the future of Swan Hunter following the decision on the Sir Bedivere refit. The receiver will wish to consider the position and I am asking the regional director of the Government Office for the north-east to contact him, the local authorities, Tyne and Wear development corporation, Tyneside training and
318WNations Environment Programme, the world conservation union—IUCN—and a small number of expert advisers have been invited.
The aim of the meeting is to exchange information and to discuss positions of the countries involved. It is not to make resolutions or to pre-empt discussions at the wider meeting of the CITES conference of the parties. The United Kingdom is taking the lead in organising the meeting, on behalf of the European Union and in consultation with the presidency.