asked the Secretary of State for the Environment when he plans to pay an official visit to Merseyside.

I visited Merseyside on Thursday 13 January and Friday 14 January. My programme included discussions with officials and seconded personnel in the Merseyside task force; meetings with the leaders and senior officers from the Liverpool, Sefton, Wirral, Knowsley and Merseyside councils; discussions with the Merseyside Development Corporation, including a visit to the Garden festival site; and a meeting with the English Industrial Estates Corporation. In addition, the Minister for Housing and Construction visited Merseyside on 13 January for discussions in Knowsley about the plans for the Cantril Farm estate.