asked the Secretary of State for Trade what steps he is taking to improve the chain of command and expedite procedures for tackling oil pollution on the high seas.

My Department's organisation for dealing with oil spillages responded promptly both in the "Amoco Cadiz" disaster and the collision involv- ing the "Eleni V". These incidents have demonstrated once again the need to learn from all available experience. We are drawing on a wide range of expertise in an interdepartmental stocktaking of the arrangements in this field, and this will certainly embrace such matters as the chain of command and operational procedures.