§ 6. Mr. Sorensenasked the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he is satisfied that all preparations possible are being made, including the taking of a census, in British Colonies, as will enable social development and the efficacious use of the Development Fund to take place without delay at the conclusion of the war?
5. Mr. David Adamsasked the Undersecretary of State for the Colonies whether it is intended, in the near future, to take a census of population in the respective territories of the West Indies in preparation for social developments at the end of the war?
§ The Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies (Mr. George Hall)My Noble Friend is most anxious not only that plans for social development should be prepared, but that, even during the war, the actual work of development should proceed wherever it can be undertaken without interference with the war effort, and that as full advantage as possible should be taken of the financial provision made by the Colonial Development and Welfare 1518 Act; and he is about to address a circular despatch to all Colonial Governments in regard to this important matter. As regards the taking of a census, the conclusion was reached with regret last spring that in the circumstances then existing it was necessary to abandon the proposal that a census should be taken throughout the Colonial Empire in 1941. A special census for Jamaica is, however, under consideration in connection with the constitutional proposals recently made public for that Colony. The question of taking a census in the Colonies generally will be considered as soon as conditions make it practicable.
§ Mr. SorensenDoes my hon. Friend appreciate that the absence of reliable and available statistics will be a barrier to social development in the future, and in these circumstances will he promote every possibility of collecting as many statistics as possible of a non-expensive character before the end of the war?