Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what guidance he has issued to the UK delegation to the International Seabed Authority about the establishment of a global moratorium on deep sea mining following recent legal analysis of President Trump's Executive order on deep sea mining.

The UK supports a moratorium on the granting of exploitation contracts for deep sea mining projects by the International Seabed Authority (ISA). We will not sponsor or support the issuing of any such exploitation contracts for deep sea mining by the ISA until there is sufficient scientific evidence about the potential impact on deep sea ecosystems and strong enforceable environmental regulations, standards and guidelines are in place. This is a matter for each ISA member State to consider carefully.