§ Mr. RedmondTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what reports his Department has(a) received and (b) assessed in respect of unexploded bombs in South Yorkshire; how many unexploded bombs are estimated to exist in each of the four metropolitan borough councils in South Yorkshire; how many bombs are officially listed; what is the estimated risk associated with these; what contact his Department has had with planners, surveyors and their representative groups in this matter; what action he plans to take; and what consultation he has had with other ministerial Departments on this subject. [2679]
§ Mr. SoamesMy Department has no record of unexploded bombs in South Yorkshire. This does not mean that no unexploded ordnance exists in the area, only that the original Home Office wartime and post-war civil defence documents on which our data are based make no mention of any. Local county or city council public record offices may provide a better source of information in this case.
For further information on the issue of unexploded bombs, I refer the hon. Member to the letter I wrote to the hon. Member for Southwark and Bermondsey (Mr. Hughes) on 24 October. A copy is available in the Library of the House.