§ Mr. DobsonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list, for the period January 1991 to June 1995, all meetings held and all correspondence or other documentation received or sent between Ministers or officials in his Department with any of the Royal Dutch/Shell group of companies or any of its subsidiaries, including the Shell Petroleum Co. Ltd. UK, in which options for the future of the Brent Spar installation were mentioned, giving for each separate meeting or documentation(a) the date on which the meeting was held, the correspondence or documentation received or correspondence or documentation sent, (b) a full list of attendees at each meeting or authors and recipients of the correspondence or documentation, and (c) the topics discussed at the meeting or title and nature of the correspondence or documentation; and if he will place copies of each piece of correspondence or documentation in the Library. [31002]
§ Mr. GummerSince the statutory responsibilities for the Government decisions on the disposal of the Brent Spar lie elsewhere, my Department was not involved directly in exchanges with Royal Dutch Shell or its subsidiaries. However, a representative of Shell UK saw the head of the UK delegation to the preparatory meetings for the North sea conference on 2 June, immediately before that conference, to explain Shell's views and gave him copies of some papers which Shell had made public.
§ Mr. DobsonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment at what time and date and by what method Ministers or officials in his Department were first made aware of the decision by Shell UK to abandon plans to dispose of the Brent Spar installation by deepwater disposal. [31005]
§ Mr. GummerMy office first learned of the decision of Shell UK from a telephone call followed by a facsimile from the company of their press release in the afternoon of Tuesday 20 June. My office immediately informed me.
§ Mr. DobsonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list, for the period January 1991 to June 1995, all meetings held and all correspondence or other documentation received or sent between Ministers or officials in his Department and Ministers or other representatives of other foreign Governments in which options for the future of the Brent Spar installation were mentioned, giving for each separate meeting or documentation(a) the date on which the meeting was held, the correspondence or documentation received or correspondence or documentation sent, (b) a full list of attendees at each meeting or authors and recipients of the correspondence or documentation, and (c) the topics discussed at the meeting or title and nature of the correspondence or documentation; and if he will place copies of each piece of correspondence or documentation in the Library. [31003]
§ Mr. GummerCommunications between Governments are conventionally sent and received in confidence.