§ 25. Sir H. BRITTAINasked the Secretary to the Overseas Trade Department 2184 what assistance has been given by his Department during the past 12 months to British exhibitors at overseas trade exhibitions; and what preparation is being made for next year's British Industries Fair?
§ Mr. DOUGLAS HACKING (Secretary Overseas Trade Department)During the past 12 months my Department has given assistance to British firms by notifying them of such forthcoming exhibitions, to be held overseas, as are of interest to them, and by supplying any information which firms require concerning such exhibitions. Our specific efforts are too numerous to explain at Question Time, and with my hon. Friend's permission I will circulate a statement in the OFFICIAL REPORT. In reply to the second part of the question, the usual preparations are being made for next year's British Industries Fair which, my hon. Friend will be aware, is to be held at Olympia, where extensive alterations and improvements are being pressed forward in order to ensure their completion by the date of the Fair.
§ Following is the statement:
§ At the Milan International Samples Fair held from 12th–27th April, my Department staged a small national propaganda exhibit in the permanent British pavilion which has been used for similar purposes for the past four years. At the Canadian National Exhibition held at Toronto from 24th August till 8th September my Department organised on behalf of the Empire Marketing Board a comprehensive exhibit of Empire foodstuffs and raw materials, the Federation of British Industries being responsible for the exhibits of individual British manufacturers in the same building. This exhibit, I am happy to state, proved very successful and received a hearty welcome from the Canadian press. In the International Aeronautical Exhibition, held in Berlin from 7th to 28th October last year, my Department assisted the Royal Aeronautical Society to organise the British exhibit, and also loaned exhibits. My Department has assisted the limited company organising British participation in this year's international exhibition at Barcelona, and the President of the Board of Trade accepted the position of President of the Committee of Honour appointed for the 2185 British section. The only forthcoming overseas exhibition in which His Majesty's Government is pledged to official participation is the International Maritime and Colonial Exhibition to be held at Antwerp next year, and my Department is at present taking the necessary steps to get into touch with prospective British exhibitors with a view to rendering them all proper assistance. My Department has also undertaken to assist in the organisation of a British Trade Exhibition at Buenos Aires, and is represented on the committee which has just been set up in London for that purpose. The exhibition is being promoted by the British Chamber of Commerce in the Argentine Republic, and will open at the end of 1930 for about three months.