§ Mr. HowardTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when instructions were given to parliamentary counsel to commence drafting the Bill to enable the Government to ratify the Ottawa Convention. [48281]
§ Mr. Tony Lloyd[holding answer 1 July 1998]: Work on the text of the Bill began in February and, after comprehensive consultation with interested Whitehall Departments, instructions were sent to parliamentary counsel on 9 June. Final drafting procedures are now complete and the Bill is due to be published tomorrow.