Current Wreck Issues - Jottings Issue 2004/2

‘Protecting our Marine Historic Environment: Making the System Work Better’

Our response was submitted and when DCMS was contacted to make certain it had arrived the co- ordinator of the consultation process, Jim Burke, was very communicative & said they had been impressed with our efforts and that he and his team were now analysing the responses with the objective of submitting a report to Lord McIntosh “by September this year”. Legislation will not go before Parliament until 2006-2007 when DCMS have parliamentary time booked which is likely to include land reforms as well as the maritime changes. He did not think that a change of government at the next election would make a difference. There is likely to be an initial short term package of measures without legislation & a long-term package of measures requiring “primary legislation”. He sent us his summary of the responses received from the land consultation process.

DJC

DCMS Submission April Update - Jottings Issue 2004/3

The current position (source: Hannah Mahoney DCMS 4^th April) remains much as it was when we last checked on 7th February, i.e., the responses to their discussion document have been analysed and their report is now with the “Head of Designation”; the White Paper, the precursor to legislation, is scheduled for 2006-7; they are still currently planning to set up “email based working discussion groups” which we have requested, both verbally and formally in writing, to be part of as representatives of the large amateur archaeologist/diver community. The forth-coming General Election appears to have put this work onto the back burner with the possibility of yet another departmental reorganisation.