HC Deb 20 July 1949 vol 467 cc1353-4
25. Mr. Kenneth Lindsay

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he is now in a position to say what action has been taken to implement Article III of the Brussels Treaty.

Mr. McNeil

Yes, Sir, but as the answer is rather long, I will, with permission, circulate it in the OFFICIAL REPORT.

Mr. Lindsay

Will the right hon. Gentleman see that that information, which I believe is quite valuable, is passed on to the British delegation which is going to Strasburg, and also to the secretariat, so that the information for the five Powers can be extended to the ten Powers?

Mr. McNeil

I am a little cautious about what my relationship with the delegation is, but the information will be available in the Library, and I think it will be furnished to the delegation.

Following is the answer:

The ad hoc Committee of Cultural Advisers, which met in London in August, 1948, has been given permanent status and has met in Paris in November, 1948, in the Hague in March, 1949, and in Brussels in May, 1949. Its next meeting will be held in Luxembourg in October. The Committee has considered reports on the existing obstacles to the free movement of persons and the free flow of cultural material between the five countries, and has passed resolutions aimed at improving the circulation of books and periodicals and contemporary works of art. These resolutions have been communicated to the five Governments with a request that they should take the steps necessary to give them effect.

Educational inspectors from the five countries visited the United Kingdom from 25th April to 21st May. This was the first of a series of such visits to be organised by the five countries and was a marked success. The next visit will be organised by the French Government in Sevres in 1950. Fifty teachers from the five countries will be visiting Ashridge, Hertfordshire, in August for the first course in a series to be organised by the five Governments. The second course will be held under the auspices of the French Government in Sevres in July and August, 1950.

A third series of courses to be organised is for Government officials of the Brussels Treaty countries, and the first one will take place in November in London. The subject for study will be the machinery of government in the United Kingdom with special reference to the structure and organisation of the Executive. Two similar courses will be organised by the French Government in France in 1950.

Four sub-committees of the Cultural Committee have been set up; one to consider the special question of facilities for young people who wish to travel to the Brussels Treaty countries; another to consider the question of newsreels; the third the question of non-commercial films; and the fourth to consider the creation of a "cultural card" which would give certain facilities to the holder of the card travelling in the five countries for a cultural purpose. The British Council are compiling each quarter a calendar of congresses which are to be held in the five countries.

Further subjects which are receiving the attention of the Cultural Committee are problems of student employees, exchanges of reproductions of works of art and the equivalence of qualifications allowing access to higher education.