2. Mrs. Whiteasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what are the methods proposed by Her Majesty's Government to overcome the impediments to the sale of British films, books and periodicals in Turkey, Israel and Indonesia, respectively.
§ Mr. Ian HarveyIn the case of Turkey, Her Majesty's Government are seeking to negotiate a British Book Export Scheme, which is under consideration by the Turkish Government. Israel at present allocates some 500,000 dollars per annum from her foreign exchange resources for the import of books and periodicals, and of this a proportion is spent on imports from the United Kingdom. The Israeli Government are aware of our interest in this matter. Indonesian imports are limited by fiscal and exchange controls, but Indonesia is, of course, at liberty to include requests for technical books in her requirements for supplies from the United Kingdom under the Technical Co-operation Scheme of the Colombo Plan.
919 Films, books and periodicals are available through the information offices and the British Council in the countries concerned and may be borrowed in appropriate cases. In Turkey and Indonesia the British Council is also able to supply a limited number of English text books to students.
Mrs. WhiteWhilst thanking the hon. Gentleman for that reply, may I ask him if he is aware that British booksellers and film distributors are experiencing the greatest difficulties in all these countries in meeting the demand because of currency and other restrictions? Will not the hon. Gentleman persuade his friends in the Treasury and the Board of Trade that books and films and similar things are not equivalent to pots of jam or boots, but are of extreme importance in international relations and should be encouraged as much as possible?
§ Mr. HarveyI accept that part of the hon. Lady's supplementary question concerning the importance of these schemes; but, in fact, the problems do not relate to this country but to the other countries concerned, which do not make the allocations required.