John Randall (Con, Uxbridge) is sponsoring this RSPB bill which would protect such sites as the wreck of a Second World War minesweeper because of the wildlife it contains.

The wreck of HMS Northcoates, lying off the West Sussex coast, is covered with a range of species, including Devonshire cup corals and jewel anemones.

According to the RSPB the site is one of 34 marine sites which deserve this special status, but this particular wreck is doubly important because these species occur at the eastern limit of their known distributions.

The remaining sites identified in the RSPB report published on Thursday October 24, include Robin Hood's Bay, between Scarborough and Whitby, the Seven Sisters off East Sussex, Portland Harbour, Lyme Bay, straddling the Devon and Dorset border, the Eddystone Rocks, off Cornwall's Rame Head and the Cymyran Strait.

House of Commons

First reading: July 18 2001 (HC Bill 8)

Second reading: October 26 2001

Money resolution: November 15 2001

Standing Committee C

• First sitting: November 21 2001 (am)
• The bill as amended in Committee: HC Bill 54

Report stage: March 15 2002

House of Lords

First reading: March 18 2002 (HL Bill 66)

Second reading: June 21 2002