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Dept for Culture Media and Sport

Answer

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make a statement on the use of Burmese teak in the Lottery-funded restoration of HMS Warrior; and what assessment she has made of whether importing Burmese teak for such use is in line with Government policy regarding trade with Burma. [224768] Estelle Morris: In December 2000, the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) awarded a grant of £725,000 to the Warrior Preservation Trust for the restoration of HMS Warrior, the Royal Navy's first ironclad and the most revolutionary warship of her age. The award was conditional upon the trust satisfying HLF that the teak came from a sustainable source. The Heritage Lottery Fund agreed new guidance on timber procurement in January 2005. Under this guidance, all timber used on HLF-funded projects must be obtained from verifiable legal sources. The preference must always be for HLF grant recipients to use timber that can be shown to have been obtained from sustainably managed forests. The guidance has been developed with the assistance of the UK Government's `Central Point of Expertise on Timber' (CPET). Although there is no ban on companies trading with Burma, the Government does not encourage trade and investment with that country; neither does it give financial support to promote trade missions there.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

432 c1572W;432 c1568W; 224768

Session

2004-05

Subjects

Imports National Lottery Policy Trade Sustainable development Timber Warships Myanmar HMS Warrior Restoration

Contains statistics

Yes

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk