asked the Minister of Overseas Development if he will increase aid to Zambia.

rose—

I am sure that the House would wish the Minister either to remain seated or to remain standing, as he chooses.

Thank you for your consideration, Mr. Speaker.

The answer to the Question is: No, Sir. I cannot promise that aid to Zambia will be increased above the level of our present commitment.

I take this opportunity of congratulating the right hon. Gentleman on his appointment. Is he aware that the best kind of aid which could be given to Zambia would be to stop the sell-out to Rhodesia and the sale of arms to South Africa, both of which policies are disturbing Zambia very greatly?

I thank the hon. Gentleman very much for his kind remarks. The question which he asked in the last part of his supplementary question must be put to my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary.

Will my right hon. Friend ensure that, when aid is sent to Zambia or to any of our other overseas territories which require aid, the conditions of receiving it—that goods should come from British sources—are underlined?

I will consider that.

asked the Minister of Overseas Development what plans he has for aid to Zambia in the coming financial year.

Aid to Zambia in this financial year is expected to be about £3·2 million. Most of this will go towards the cost of the Overseas Service Aid Scheme.

Has my right hon. Friend studied recent Zambian legislation under which British subjects, including my constituent Mr. Riley, are being robbed of their land with derisory compensation? Will he either take this into account or, if that is difficult, as it may well be, consider setting up a British-administered fund which will deal with this problem?

I ought to explain to my hon. Friend that any question concerning the Zambia Lands Acquisition Act should be directed to my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary.

Will the right hon. Gentleman bear in mind, following his visit to opencast mining in Mamba and copper in the North, that what Zambia needs at the moment is large numbers of English-speaking technical assistants, particularly mining engineers? What is he able to do in this direction? Can he help?

I have explained that most of the £3·2 million which we are giving to Zambia will go towards the cost of the Overseas Service Aid Scheme. I realise, as does the hon. Member, that there is a great need in Zambia for technical knowledge and know-how.

asked the Minister of Overseas Development if he will make a statement on the restoration of aid to Malta.

asked the Minister of Overseas Development whether he will make a statement about aid to Malta.

As I told my hon. Friend the Member for Oxford (Mr. Woodhouse) on 6th July, I hope soon to be able to renew negotiations with the Government of Malta. The British High Commissioner in Valletta is coming to London next week for discussions on this matter.—[Vol. 803, c. 9.]

I, too, congratulate my right hon. Friend on his new and most suitable appointment. Will he remember, when the negotiations start, that all aid to the George Cross Island has been suspended for over 1¼ years, which is endangering the future of N.A.T.O. in the Mediterranean at a time when the Soviet Union is increasing its threat?

I thank my hon. Friend for what he said in the first part of his supplementary question. I agree entirely with what he said in the second part. That is why we are anxious to see this dispute settled on reasonable terms so that the flow of aid can be resumed.

While not wishing to advocate instant government, may I urge upon my right hon. Friend the need for an early decision in this matter, even if it is only of a compromise and interim character, in order to get aid flowing again, because the very long delay under the previous Administration was prejudicial to our good relations with Malta and very prejudicial to her interests?

I think that my hon. Friend will agree that we are losing no time, because the High Commissioner is coming here next week to begin these discussions.

May I offer my very best wishes to the right hon. Gentleman on taking office in what I am sure he will find to be a most rewarding Department? As the income per head in Malta is very high compared with that in other countries to which we give aid, would the right hon. Gentleman agree that there are no specific aid criteria which would justify any further concessions to Malta?

I thank the right hon. Lady for her good wishes. I agree with her assessment, in view of the very authoritative position from which she gives it, that the aid terms which we are offering, and may offer, Malta are likely to be more generous than those followed in the usual aid criteria.

asked the Minister of Overseas Development if he will make a statement on the restoration of aid to Lesotho.

asked the Minister of Overseas Development whether he will make a statement on the Government's aid policy towards Lesotho.

A small team of my officials recently visited Lesotho. In the light of their report, I am now considering the resumption of our aid programme. In view of the grave drought situation, I have meanwhile authorised immediate expenditure on the purchase and erection of a number of food storage sheds, food distribution, and the resumption of "food for work" schemes to the full extent requested.

While welcoming the restoration of our normal relations with Lesotho and the drought relief, may I ask my right hon. Friend also to confirm that the next three-year programme of aid, which was announced to the House some time ago, will now be implemented?

This is a matter which, as I have explained to my hon. Friend, we are considering, and I shall certainly take into account what he said.

In welcoming the general tenor of the right hon. Gentleman's reply, may I ask whether he would not agree that budgetary assistance to countries such as Lesotho indicates a degree of political commitment to particular political régimes about which some Members of the House will have a degree of caution? Would he also agree, particularly in relation to refugees from the Republic of South Africa, that it is important that if we give budgetary assistance, we must make our views on the position of such refugees well known?

I will take into account the second part of the hon. Member's question. In reply to the first part, as he knows our aid to Lesotho has consisted of budgetary and development aid. I do not make the very clear distinction to which the hon. Member has drawn attention.

asked the Minister of Overseas Development whether he will make a statement on Her Majesty's Government's policy in relation to the Pearson and Jackson Reports.

The Government consider that the Pearson Report is an extremely important policy document in the field of international development and intend to take full account of its recommendations in deciding their own policies. The Government also welcome, in general, the findings of the Jackson Capacity Study and are seeking international agreement on giving effect to them.

While welcoming that Answer as far as it goes, and welcoming the right hon. Gentleman's appointment to his present office, may I ask whether he could do something to help in re-establishing the Specialist Committee of the House on Overseas Aid, which did valuable work in helping to interpret both these Reports?

I have no wish, particularly after the hon. Member's kind remarks, to try to dodge his question, but I think he will find that it must be directed elsewhere.

Will my right hon. Friend consider the importance of private enterprise investment in developing countries and the need for that investment to be insured against political risks?

Yes, Sir. That is a most important matter which we must consider.

asked the Minister of Overseas Development what is his policy regarding the aid target of 1 per cent. of the gross national product.

asked the Minister of Overseas Development what steps he will take to arrive at the Pearson target of gross national product for overseas aid.

asked the Minister of Overseas Development if it is the Government's intention to reach the targets set for overseas aid by the Pearson Commission Report; and if he will make a statement.

I am now examining the attitude we should take towards the various targets for resource flows. I welcome the interest of hon. Members in this matter, and I shall do my best to keep Parliament informed of future decisions.

In thanking the right hon. Gentleman for that reply, may I ask whether his Department's spending in this direction will be subjected to scrutiny under the public expenditure survey that his right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer has initiated and whether we may see a postponement of the targets set by the previous Government? Can the right hon. Gentleman say anything about the proportions as between private and public aid which he would wish to pursue?

This question, like all questions of public expenditure, will be scrutinised carefully by the Government. I hope that this will not lead to the postponement that the hon. Member suggests. As to the division between private investment and official flows, this also is a matter on which I cannot at present answer because it is bound to be under consideration.

May I remind my right hon. Friend that I hope that he will bear in mind the serious concern which is felt in the country that he should not be parsimonious about aid, either official or the encouragement of private aid, and that the nation's moral standing in the world will be judged very much by this aspect?

I am grateful for the support of my hon. Friend, and, indeed, of the House, in a view which I entirely share.

Will the right hon. Gentleman emphasise to all his Ministerial colleagues the importance for many of the poorer Commonwealth countries of continuing, and, indeed, strengthening, the Commonwealth Sugar Agreement, with particular regard to the opening of negotiations with the Common Market?

That is another question and, possibly, not entirely directed to me, but I appreciate its importance.

asked the Minister of Overseas Development if he will announce the Government's plans for expenditure on overseas aid in the years up to and including 1973–74.

As my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer said on 7th July, all aspects of public expenditure are now being examined. I cannot, therefore, at present make a statement.

Will the Minister recognise that last October, in the previous Parliament, his right hon. Friend who is now Foreign Secretary gave the House to understand that a Conservative Administration would provide a larger amount of aid than the previous Administration? Does he not think it would be appropriate immediately to give effect to that implication of the Foreign Secretary's remarks?

I must ask the hon. Member to await the statement which, I hope, the Government will be able to make on this important matter as soon as possible.

Would not my right hon. Friend agree that the major immediate effect of overseas financial aid is the provision of jobs in factories in this country for export orders which might not otherwise materialise and that while this may be an admirable purpose, it does not have very much to do with the moral postures in international affairs which hon. Members opposite try to read into it?

I do not know whether that is very closely connected with the Question, which concerns the Government's plans for expenditure in overseas aid but it is certainly a matter of great importance.

While I appreciate that the right hon. Gentleman is bound to take a little time to consider this matter, may I ask him to assure us that he is fully aware that in June the previous Government had totally accepted the Pearson commitment for a 1 per cent. target by 1975 and had also accepted the concept and target of a ·7 per cent. official flow?

I am well aware of the first part but I was less clearly aware of the second part of the right hon. Lady's submission. In any event, however, my awareness of the first part has increased my resolve that we should do at least as well as the previous Government, and, I hope, improve on their performance.

asked the Minister of Overseas Development whether he will reconsider the decision of his predecessor not to assume responsibility for the pension of Mr. Y. Alawi who served British administration overseas for 36 years and has been denied his pension by the Zanzibar Government.

I am studying this question, and I will let my hon. Friend know the result as soon as I can.

While thanking my right hon. Friend for agreeing to look into the matter again, may I ask him to bear in mind that Mr. Alawi, after a lifetime of service to the British Crown, is living sick and near destitution in this country and deserves very much better treatment than he has been getting? Would he also bear in mind that many of us will scrutinise with not much enthusiasm any aid proposals for Tanzania unless injustices of this kind are removed?

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for not pressing me further on this specific problem. I am, as I have assured him, looking into this matter. I am aware of Mr. Alawi's difficulties and I would very much hope to be able to do something to help.

asked the Minister of Overseas Development whether he will publish a White Paper setting out the Government's overseas aid and development policy.

I have no immediate plans to publish a White Paper, but I am considering whether it would be helpful to do so later on.

While thanking the right hon. Gentleman for that reply, may I ask whether he would not agree that aid is not just a matter of quantity but that there are a number of important questions concerning qualitative and administrative policies in respect of which the House is anxious to know the full details of Governmental thinking?

It is just because I realise some of the complexities in this field that I was unable to give a wholly satisfactory answer to the hon. Gentleman's Question.

If my right hon. Friend is considering publishing a White Paper, will he bear in mind that the previous Adiministration's proposals certainly would not have resulted in achieving a 1 per cent. target by 1975?

asked the Minister of Overseas Development what has been the increase in the cost of living since the last increase in rates of pay for those serving in the Gilbert and Ellice Islands.

I assume that my hon. Friend's Question refers to the last increase in inducement allowances, which takes effect from 1st July, 1969. Between then and June, 1970, there seems to have been a rise of about 6 per cent. in the level of retail prices affecting expatriates in the Gilbert and Ellice Islands.

My right hon. Friend will be aware that the difficulties of servants in the Gilbert and Ellice Islands are probably unparalleled in most parts of the world. May I have his assurance that he will keep a close watch on those difficulties to see that the rewards are commensurate with them?

I shall do so, and I think my hon. Friend knows that we have promised to review this whole matter generally fairly early next year. I hope that this will meet the case he has put to me.

asked the Minister of Overseas Development what are the comparable rates of pay after tax for British and French public servants serving in the condominium of the New Hebrides; and what has been the increase in the cost of living since the rates were settled.

I assume, as before, that my hon. Friend's Question refers to inducement allowances.

I have not enough information about the scales of pay in the French Service, New Hebrides, to make a direct comparison with the British rates; but in recognition of the special circumstances of service in the New Hebrides, expatriate officers in the British National Service receive a special additional allowance.

Between 1st July, 1969, the operative date of the last increase in the New Hebrides, and the following December, the latest date for which information is available, there was a rise of 2 per cent. in the level of retail prices.

Would my right hon. Friend take some steps to find out what the differential is between those who serve the French Government and those who serve the British Government and keep a close watch to see that British servants are not less well rewarded for their efforts?

A senior official of to see whether I can obtain the kind of information my hon. Friend wants, but it is, of course, a difficulty not only of comparing rates of pay but of comparing a very great many other things, and difficult, therefore, to arrive at a direct and useful answer.

asked the Minister of Overseas Development if he will make a statement about the resumption of aid for Tanzania.

A senior official of my Department visited Dar-es-Salaam at the end of June for discussions with the Government of Tanzania. On behalf of Her Majesty's Government, he offered a resumption of aid, including a loan for capital development and also the full range of our technical assistance. This offer was accepted. The details of our future programme will now be worked out in consultation with the Tanzanian authorities.

May I compliment the right hon. Gentleman on the coincidence that he has assumed office at a time when a particularly vexatious problem in Africa seems to have been resolved, particularly since Tanzania is a particularly aid-worthy country from the point of view of rural development? Will he assure the House that rural development will be in the forefront of his Ministry's activities, both in Tanzania and elsewhere?

I think I can give the hon. Gentleman that assurance.

Were obligations of the Tanzanian Government to officials who formerly served the British—such as Mr. Alawi, who was the subject of an earlier Question—included in the discussions with the Tanzanians?

I am afraid I cannot give a direct answer to that because I do not know the answer. I certainly see the relevance of what is in my hon. Friend's mind and I will take this question into account.

asked the Minister of Overseas Development if he will consult with the officers responsible for the British Volunteer Programme with a view to providing for an exchange of volunteers between this country and developing countries under a system which would enable the volunteers from both ends first to enter upon a period of postgraduate study and then a period of social service.

Yes, Sir, but the necessary consultations will take some time, and I cannot at present say what the outcome will be.

May I thank the right hon. Gentleman for at least taking this suggestion into account, and will he note particularly the element of mutual aid which is contained in the suggestion and the parallel with the Study and Serve Scheme on a contract basis, which has proved successful in his Ministry's operations?

If I may say so, the hon. Gentleman's suggestion is not only an interesting one but it is an obviously far-reaching one, and this is the reason why I think it will be necessary for the consultations to take some time. I will certainly take into account any points he would like to put to me.

asked the Minister of Overseas Development how many qualified teachers and people in Voluntary Service Overseas are at present working under the sponsorship of his Department in the educational service of Commonwealth countries.

At the end of last year, there were 4,643 British educational staff serving in Commonwealth countries under the auspices of my Department. The vast majority of them were qualified teachers. At the same date, 775 graduate or qualified volunteers and 205 cadets were serving in educational projects in Commonwealth countries under the British Volunteer Programme.

May I thank my right hon. Friend for that reply? Does he not agree that educational aid is one of the best forms of aid? Are there enough people available to take jobs? If not, will he help to see that employers are more sympathetic towards releasing people?

I certainly agree with the premise of the question. I will go carefully into the matter to see that needs which must be met are met.

Reverting to a former Question about Tanzania, will the right hon. Gentleman please pay special attention to the supply of teachers in Tanzania? Zambia is not alone in needing people who know English. We have been phasing out, as the right hon. Gentleman knows. In Tanzania we have very few teachers, and the English language is so important, and they badly need teachers there on the east side.

I will certainly look into that.

asked the Minister of Overseas Development how much money is being allocated by his Department to help education in the Commonwealth countries; and how it is divided between primary, secondary and university education.

The total indentifiable expenditure on aid to education in the Commonwealth in 1968 was about £21·5 million. Beyond this, we made contributions to international bodies concerned with aid to education. The allocation of our aid by country and function is rather complex, and I do not have the precise breakdown my hon. Friend requires. But I am sending her some figures which show in some detail what we are doing.

May I thank my right hon. Friend for his reply? Does he consider that it is essential, if at all possible, that individuals should be educated in a unversity of their country of origin before taking post-graduate courses here?

I would think this important.

asked the Minister of Overseas Development if he will make a statement on a study course sponsored by his Department to be held by the Institute of Development Studies at Sussex University for civil servants from developing countries at which it is planned to hold a session on methods for nationalising externally-owned companies.

I assume that my hon. Friend is referring to the Study Seminar on the State Corporations to be held next month. The Institute is organising this Seminar as part of its teaching programme, but it is not being sponsored by my Department.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that this will relieve the anxiety of thousands of investors who strongly object to public money being spent on teaching developing countries how to seize their assets, and can he give an assurance that no public moneys are involved in this?

I can assure my hon. Friend that I share his anxiety about this. It did cause me disquiet to see how this Seminar was presented. Certain steps have been taken. I hope that we shall not see this particular matter in this form again.

I am sure the right hon. Gentleman would wish to make it clear that on this particular course decisions were made some time ago—the decisions to which he referred; but would he agree that it is of some considerable importance that he should arrive at some new understanding with the Institute, on the one hand to protect the rights of Government in deciding how public money is wisely spent and, on the other hand, to protect the academic freedom of the Institute?

I should like to discuss with the right hon. Lady the new understanding which I hope my Department has reached with the Institute, because I think it is very important for its future administration.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity if he will introduce legislation to make joint safety committees in industry compulsory.

My right hon. Friend proposes to start further consultations with the C.B.I., the T.U.C. and the nationalised industries as to the best way of getting better arrangements for joint consultation on safety matters.

With due respect to the Minister, he has dodged the point of the Question about making compulsory joint safety committees. There should be no need for further consultation because both major parties have discussed this matter at great length. Will the hon. Gentleman take it that his Answer will be a great disappointment to trade unionists in this country?

I do not think the hon. Member was in the House when we debated the health and safety Bill in the last Parliament. The then Opposition then had very substantial reservations about Part II of that Bill. I think it far better, before proceeding with this point, to have further consultations.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that in the electricity supply industry joint safety committees have been operating for many years on a virtually compulsory basis and have achieved a fair measure of success? Would not he agree that if the result were a drop in the number of accidents with a consequential reduction in pain and suffering, that would be beneficial and a fair exchange for a measure of compulsion?

Yes, Sir. Substantial progress has been made on a voluntary basis and there are those who believe that even further progress could be made on a voluntary basis. My right hon. Friend intends to have serious consultations on this point and, if it is thought that further legislation is necessary, that will be brought forward.

Does this mean that the hon. Gentleman and his right hon. Friend do not intend to reintroduce the legislation which was before the House, which was urgently needed, which could have been amended and discussed in Committee and which his Department's Industrial Safety Advisory Committee was anxious to see make progress?

We are giving urgent attention to the introduction of a Health and Safety Bill. At an appropriate time we shall bring these Measures forward if it is thought that they should be brought forward.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity if he will take steps to reduce the number of accidents and health hazards in industry.

Yes, Sir. It is certainly our intention to do all we can to bring about a reduction in occupational accidents and illnesses. We hope to receive valuable advice in due course from the Committee on Safety and Health at work under the chairmanship of Lord Robens.

Remembering the general welcome given by both sides of the House to Part I of the Employed Persons (Health and Safety) Bill, which introduced a medical service to seek out health hazards in industry, will not the Government, as a matter of urgency, reintroduce Part I of that Bill, since many people are suffering severely as a result of the delay?

As I have just told the right hon. Lady the Member for Blackburn (Mrs. Castle), we are considering this as a matter of urgency, but we have been in office only for about two weeks. We shall bring forward our proposals probably very quickly.

As about five times as many working days are lost through industrial injuries as are lost through industrial disputes, will the hon. Gentleman make sure that his Department gets its priorities right?

Yes, I think that we are getting our priorities right, and that is why we attach considerable importance to the far-reaching inquiry which is now under way. The urgency of it is well realised by Lord Robens, and the first meeting has already been held.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity what estimate he has made of the level of unemployment at the end of the year.

It is not possible to give a meaningful estimate of the level of unemployment at some future date.

Will the right hon. Gentleman accept that, although it must be his first priority to reduce the total level of unemployment, one of the successes of the previous Government was the reduction in the disparity of employment opportunities between the regions? Will he give an assurance that he will not permit the present Government to reduce the amount of regional assistance?

Everyone must be his own judge of facts, but when I consider the drop in employment in all the regions as well as in the country as a whole, I should not think that that was a part of the last Administration's policy of which they would be most proud. The hon. Member speaks of disparity. I do not imagine that it is much joy to people in Scotland, Wales or the North to know that some people in other parts of the country are suffering as much, or a little bit nearer as much, as they are; but of course it is of immense importance to raise employment opportunities in the development areas.

May I remind my right hon. Friend that it is not only the national and regional figures that concern me but the area figure within the region, and that in north-east Kent the unemployment rate is up to 6·5 per cent., with no help being given.

I agree with my hon. Friend that one must look at the micro pattern as well as the macro pattern.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity what initiatives he has taken to negotiate between the Co-operative Insurance Society and their agents during the current dispute.

Officers of my Department have been in touch with the society and the union since the outset of this dispute and a joint meeting was held under Departmental chairmanship on 29th June, without a settlement being reached. I understand that the T.U.C. has also been in touch with the union concerned, and proposes to have discussions shortly with representatives of the society.

In spite of the meeting on 29th June and the singularly ill-conceived letter from the general manager to the agents, will not the Department use its good offices and try to bring the parties together?

I think that the Department has already done this, with fairly good effect. I assure the hon. Member that the staff have discussed all the possibilities, including arbitration, with both parties, but there can be no arbitration unless it is voluntarily wanted on both sides.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity when he intends to introduce legislation for the reform of the trades unions.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity when he will present his Bill on Industrial Relations.

I shall introduce a comprehensive industrial relations Bill as soon as possible.

Is the Minister aware—[Interruption.]

Order. It is not in order for an hon. Member to wave to Mr. Speaker to attract his attention.

I can assure you, Mr. Speaker, that I was not waving. Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that since taking its recent powers the T.U.C. has intervened in over 150 industrial disputes and has saved the country over two million man-days, and that this could not have happened under legislation of a "keep-the-unions-in-their-place" type which is so ardently desired by the Conservative Government? Will he look at this matter seriously before rushing headlong at the problem bull-at-a-gate?

My right hon. Friends and I have often paid tribute to the work done by the T.U.C. under Mr. Victor Feather. I do not wish to detract from that. But I am also aware that in this last year there has been an escalation in the number of strikes and working days lost through strikes of very serious proportions, and that last year was much worse than any previous year. We are, certain that action is needed. I should like to assure the hon. Member that our action will be to reform the whole of industrial relations, not just the trade unions.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that on 18th June the country clearly gave its answer that enlightened legislation on industrial relations is desired. Is he also aware that he will be supported by his back-bench Members in this legislation, in contradistinction to the way in which the right hon. Member for Blackburn (Mrs. Castle) was treated by her back-bench Members a year ago?

I am quite sure that the country is aware of the need for a more orderly framework for the conduct of collective bargaining, which is what we shall be providing.

Will the Secretary of State put some of his hon. Friends in training to do jobs on the docks and on the railways, where they will be needed if a Bill of the nature proposed by the Secretary of State is brought in? Is he not aware that to shift the question purely from unofficial to official disputes might put this country in line with the United States and Australia where, with the aid of legal sanctions, disputes are four times greater than they are in Britain?

I do not accept any of the premises put by the hon. Gentleman, nor do I believe that he voices the opinions of the vast majority of those who work in industry in this country.

While warmly endorsing my right hon. Friend's remarks, since the legislation he proposes is certain to be extremely complex in character would he consider issuing his Bill in the first week of September so that we shall all have ample opportunity to study it during the Summer Recess, before we come back to the House fully refreshed in the second week of October?

I shall issue the Bill as soon as possible, after proper consultation.