§ Lord Fearnasked Her Majesty's Government:
How many historical sites in England are at present undergoing excavation and exploratory work. [HL4356]
§ Baroness BlackstoneThere is no organisation that keeps an overview of all archaeological work that is presently being undertaken in England. The Government can only provide data in relation to projects supported by English Heritage. In 2001–02 its Archaeological Commissions Programme provided grant aid and advice to 342 projects. The Archaeological Investigations Project, which is funded through English Heritage's Archaeological Commissions Programme, does collate year-on-year information on all archaeological projects undertaken in the commercial sector. The results of this are published in a series of hard-copy reports each year, a summary of which is available through the Archaeological Data Service website.