Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Written Statement of 24 October 2014, whether English Heritage agreed with (a) his decision to allow the Maritime Heritage Foundation to proceed with the next phase of the Project Design and (b) the granting of permission to recover at-risk surface items from the wreck site in accordance with the Project Design.

In accordance with the Deed of Gift for HMS Victory 1744, English Heritage, as a member of the Advisory Group, provided advice on the acceptability of the actions proposed by the Maritime Heritage Foundation (MHF). That advice was used to guide development of the Project Design and assurances received from the MHF, enabled my rt hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence to give his consent to the next phase of the project.