asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he is now able to make a statement as to the setting up of a fund for former Far Eastern prisoners of war or their dependants under the Treaty of Peace with Japan.

No, Sir. No funds will be available to the International Committee of the Red Cross under Article 16 of the Japanese Peace Treaty until the Peace Treaty has come into force and Japan has transferred her assets in neutral and ex-enemy countries and in Germany and Austria to that Committee.

Japanese assets in the United Kingdom will likewise not become the property of Her Majesty's Government, under Article 14 of the Japanese Peace Treaty, until the Japanese Peace Treaty has come into force.

May we have an assurance that the Government will do all they possibly can to expedite the implementation of this scheme, and that it will not be held up unduly by legal discussions?

There will certainly be no delay as far as the Government are concerned, but it is, of course, a matter for other States to ratify the Japanese Peace Treaty before it can come into force.