asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress has been made with arrangements to mark the tercentenary of William and Mary in 1988.

The British Committee described in the reply by my hon. Friend the Member for Wycombe (Mr. Whitney) to my hon. Friend on 30 July 1984, at column 65, has been set up, together with a number of specialist sub-committees. Mr. Charles Tidbury has taken over as chairman from Sir Charles Troughton, and the committee will hold its second meeting on 18 June.We anticipate a programme of commemorative events in 1988–89 which will be a fitting celebration and reminder of our joint cultural heritage with the Dutch people, and which will help further to strengthen our already excellent relations with The Netherlands.