asked the Secretary for Technical Co-operation what steps he has taken to make known to underdeveloped parts of the Commonwealth the wider facilities available in his Department for giving advice on such matters as economic development.

All British High Commissioners in independent Commonwealth countries and the Governments of dependent Territories have been informed of the setting up of the Department of Technical Co-operation and of its readiness to provide assistance on such subjects.

I am much obliged to the right hon. Gentleman. He will know of the views held on this side that his Department might be even more powerful in these fields. Can the Minister give a complete assurance that he gives this function an important place in the work of his Department and that he intends to make it a real clearing house for advice and information on economic and social developments in areas like these?

Yes, that is my intention. In fact, I have ideas for redesigning part of my Department to meet what the hon. Gentleman has in mind.

asked the Secretary for Technical Co-operation if the Advisory Committee on Co-operation, formerly within the sphere of the Colonial Office, is now under his aegis; what plans he has for further developments; and if he will make a statement.

My Department is consulting with other Departments about the reconstitution of this Committee.

Is the Minister aware that the shrinking Colonial Territories and the expanding Commonwealth Territories, particularly in Africa and Asia, make this Advisory Committee more important than it has been under the Colonial Office, and that we are pleased to hear that further plans are being made for its reconstitution?

I will note what the hon. Gentleman has to say. I hope to come to a decision very shortly about this Committee.

asked the Secretary for Technical Co-operation what plans he has made to give technical assistance to the Gambia.

Technical assistance is being given to the Gambia in the form of education, training, and in research as well as by the provision of officials under the Overseas Service Aid Scheme. The advisory and recruitment services of my Department are also available to the Government of the Gambia on request.

Is the Minister aware that when the Gambia becomes independent it will be extremely difficult to maintain its economic strength unless some radical help is given from overseas and that it rests entirely on the groundnut industry? Will the right hon. Gentleman do all he can to ensure that when it becomes independent it is a viable economic unit?

Yes. At the moment, of course, the Gambia is financially assisted principally under the Colonial Development and Welfare Acts, but in the event of independence it would be subject to a technical assistance agreement. I agree with what the hon. Gentleman has said.

asked the Secretary for Technical Co-operation when he expects to receive the Report of the Working Party on the development of the British Broadcasting Corporation's overseas broadcasting services.

Shortly, Sir.

Is not this Report much overdue, and, in view of the intensified jamming of British broadcasting services, is it not time that the matter of overseas facilities should be treated as one of considerable urgency?

I would not say that this Report has been delayed. It is a fairly comprehensive survey, and when I said "shortly" to the hon. Member I really meant shortly. I hope to see the Report in the next few days.

May I ask the right hon. Gentleman whether the Report will be available and whether he will make a statement? Will the Minister say that it is intended to prevent Britain falling still further behind other countries in the amount of broadcasting?

I shall want to see the Report first, and no doubt I shall want to discuss it with my right hon. Friends. I note what the right hon. Gentleman says about it.

asked the Secretary for Technical Co-operation in which foreign and Commonwealth countries he is proposing a reduction in British Council expenditure.

asked the Secretary for Technical Co-operation whether he is yet in a position to state what cuts he is proposing to make in information expenditure overseas.

asked the Secretary for Technical Co-operation what proposals he has for ensuring a steady long-term development of the overseas information services, and for avoiding sudden and disrupting cuts.

asked the Secretary for Technical Co-operation if he will now state in which foreign and Commonwealth countries he is proposing to reduce information expenditure.

asked the Secretary for Technical Co-operation whether, in deciding the future level of information expenditure by overseas departments, he will make full allowance for unavoidable increases in costs.

asked the Secretary for Technical Co-operation if he is aware of the difficulty of expanding or contracting information work overseas at short notice; and what action he is taking to ensure a steady, long-term development of these services.

asked the Secretary for Technical Co-operation whether, in deciding the future level of British Council expenditure at home and overseas, he will make full allowance for unavoidable increases in costs.

As I explained on 7th November in reply to the hon. Member for Woolwich, East (Mr. Mayhew), it is too early to say exactly how the work of our overseas information services, or the British Council, will be affected by the need to make savings in expenditure overseas. As in previous years, the desirability both of steady development and of providing for increased costs are being fully borne in mind.

Has the Minister's attention been drawn to the very high praise given to the British Council by the Minister of Housing? In those circumstances and in view of the increasing need for British information services overseas to be expanded, is he not making a false economy by cutting down the amount of money available to the Council?

I fully share the views of my right hon. Friend about the value of the British Council. For that reason its budget expanded from £3·4 million in 1957–58 to £6·4 million this year—in other words, it has nearly doubled in just over three years. I do not think that it is impossible to provide for some pruning of the budget of the British Council without in any way destroying the good work it is doing.

Do I understand the right hon. Gentleman to say that it is too early to make a full statement? Is he not aware that in the meantime there is a good deal of uncertainty and that the present time, which is a time of crisis, is the worst possible time at which to make the cuts which have been envisaged?

I said that it was too early because this subject has been under discussion by the British Council and by the Departments and agreement has not yet been reached. For that reason I do not want to anticipate any statement I may later make.

Does my right hon. Friend realise that it is only recently that we have been able to make up the ground which was lost by the cuts of the first Conservative Government since the war? Further, with the increasing number of emerging countries the importance of the work of the British Council is greater than ever.

I fully share those views. As my hon. Friend probably knows, the total expenditure on overseas information services has doubled in the last seven years. It is against that background that the small savings which we are now investigating are to be made.

Would not the Minister agree that with the present Government it is all the more important that we should have somebody to boost our reputation overseas?

Will the Minister reply to the specific question I asked him, namely, whether allowance is to be made for the increased costs of the British Council? Is he aware that unless this is done very severe cuts by the Council will have to be made, which will result in a drastic curtailing of its activities?

I am very conscious of that point. In my original Answer, I said that the question of increased costs had been fully borne in mind. I cannot go beyond that today.

Before the Minister reaches a conclusion, will he consider visiting the Territories, especially those in Africa, and consulting administrators there? He would find not only that any cut would be regarded as irresponsible and absurd but that there is a very strong feeling that, if British influence is to be sustained, a substantial increase in the Vote is needed. Will he please consider this matter with a view to increasing the expenditure and not decreasing it?

I certainly intend to visit as many of these countries as possible. I cannot promise to do so before a decision on this issue is taken. The decision will be taken in conjunction with my colleagues who have visited these countries in recent months.

asked the Secretary for Technical Co-operation to what extent the services of his department are being used to further the training in the United Kingdom of nurses from Commonwealth countries.

The arrangements which have been in force for the past six years for direct contact between matrons of training hospitals in Britain and prospective nursing trainees from Commonwealth countries are continuing satisfactorily. My Department, in consultation with the High Commissions and students offices of the Commonwealth Governments in London, is able to give any additional help that may be required. There are now about 8,000 nursing students from the Commonwealth countries and dependent territories training in United Kingdom hospitals.

I thank my right hon. Friend for that reply. From what countries are these nurses coming? Are the newly independent countries taking a special interest, as nurses are badly needed in those countries?

If my hon. Friend would care to table a Question I might be able to give her further information as to the break-up and distribution of the 8,000 student nurses. I have met quite a number of them. They come from a wide variety of countries, particularly the West Indies. In answer to the last part of her supplementary question, there are a large number of nurses from Ghana in this country at present.