A five-member Cabinet delegation arrives in London this morning, hoping to return to Bermuda with fresh information on Independence.

The committee chaired by Deputy Premier the Hon. Irving Pearman, which is preparing a discussion paper on Independence, has talks scheduled with UK Government officials, and the High Commissioner of the Bahamas in London.

"We want to get a sense of how they manage internationally today vis-a-vis how they did some years ago,'' Mr. Pearman said of today's meeting with Bahamian High Commissioner to London Mr. Arthur Foulkes and his First Secretary and Consul Ms Wendy Rolle-MacKinnon.

Bermuda hopes to learn "how they as an Island country deal with representation in various countries, and that kind of thing,'' he said.

The cost of Bahamian Independence would be "all part of the scenario,'' though Bermuda's costs could be very different than the cost in the Bahamas, he said.

Bahamas went Independent in 1973.

The committee's Cabinet paper, called a Green Paper, is to look at the pros and cons of Bermuda going Independent or remaining a dependent territory. It is also to examine possible Constitutional changes for Bermuda if the Island remains a dependent territory.

Mr. Pearman is accompanied on the trip by committee members the Hon. David Saul, the Hon. Clarence Terceira, the Hon. Maxwell Burgess, and the Hon.

Jerome Dill. Former Premier the Hon. Sir John Sharpe, an adviser to the committee, is also on the trip.

Another meeting today is set with Mr. Max Gaylord, director of the political affairs division of the Commonwealth Secretariat.

Tomorrow, the group meets first with Mr. David Owen at the Privy Council. The delegation then returns to the Foreign & Commonwealth Office to see Mr. John Kelly, the former Deputy Governor of Bermuda who now heads the F&CO's dependent territories section.

Lunch is planned with Mr. Tony Baldry MP, the Parliamentary under Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, who is responsible for the West Indies and Atlantic department that takes in Bermuda.

After a stop at the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, the group might pay a courtesy call on Mr. Douglas Hurd MP, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs. This visit will not be confirmed until tomorrow, Government said in a news release.

On Friday, the group attends a meeting of the Bermuda Society's committee of management, followed by lunch.

Three of the Ministers are also making visits in London related to their own portfolios, Government said.

Dr. Terceira, the Education Minister, is meeting Secretary of State for Education Mr. Eric Forth. Mr. Burgess, the Transport Minister, will meet Ministry of Transport officials. And Mr. Dill, the Human Affairs Minister, will meet Home Office official Mr. Richard Thew to discuss the UK's Rehabilitation of Offenders Act. The delegation returns to Bermuda on the weekend.