§ 55. Mr. Cooperasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what steps are being taken to improve and unify vocational training for Colonial ex-Service men; why no rehabilitation scheme or vocational training has yet been undertaken in British Honduras; and what steps are being taken to alleviate the present problems of mass unemployment and poverty in British Honduras.
Mr. Creech JonesWith my hon. Friend's permission, I will circulate the answer in the OFFICIAL REPORT.
§ Mr. CooperWhile I appreciate that there will be a fuller statement on this matter, may I ask if my right hon. Friend realises that I have been following this up now for a period of nearly 12 months and that my latest information indicates that only some 12 ex-Service men have benefited through any schemes which the Colonial Government are launching? Does not he consider this to be a matter of extreme urgency which needs to be tackled much more vigorously than my information indicates it is being tackled?
Mr. Creech JonesI wish my hon. Friend would wait until he sees the reply. His figure of 12 is by no means correct. There are various schemes; for instance, one immediate scheme in respect of 35 men and another concerning 100 men.
§ Mr. CooperThere are something like 1,000 men unemployed in the Colony and the figures given show a rather small effort in view of the size of the problem.
Mr. Creech JonesI would ask my hon. Friend to read the reply.
Following is the answer: Vocational training in the Colonies must depend on local conditions and uniform arrangements would not be practicable. Schemes for such training of 1557 ex-Service men have, however, been provided in a number of Colonial territories and Colonial Governments know that I should be glad to consider, in consultation with them, any suggestions for the improvement or extension of such schemes. In the case of British Honduras, men who did war service in the United Kingdom were covered by a Colonial Office scheme for further education and vocational training similar to the Ministry of Labour scheme for U.K. ex-Service men.
The main difficulty in absorbing ex-Service men into civil occupations in the Colony has been that there were comparatively few openings for persons trained for a skilled trade. In consequence, there is no general scheme for vocational training, although the needs of ex-Service men in respect of employment have been a preoccupation of the Governor in British Honduras. Efforts have been made to absorb the men into agriculture and such other kinds of work as are available. The proposals for the purchase of land for resettlement to which I referred in replying to my hon. Friend on 9th June have recently been put into effect. This scheme is expected to employ 35 men by the end of the year and about 100 men in 1949. I have also recently approved a scheme to employ ex-Service men on clearing and levelling some 40 acres of land in the neighbourhood of Belize, with a view to development.
Other projects are being studied, but I must add that the ultimate answer to the problem lies in major economic development, recommendations for which are made in the Report of the British Guiana and British Honduras Settlement Commission which is being presented to the House today.