Books and Periodicals (Export) (Hansard, 22 June 1959)

1. Mrs. White
asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what progress has been made with arrangements for supplying books oversea to countries with currency restrictions or in which low cost books are particularly required.

§ 3. Lady Gammans
asked the Chancel for of the Duchy of Lancaster, having in mind the amount of literature poured into India and other Asiatic countries by Communist countries, so cheaply that it qualifies as propaganda, what is being done in a comparable way by this country.

§ 4. Mr. Hoy
asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what action he is taking to increase the supply of British books to countries overseas.

§ 6. Mr. G. M. Thomson
asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what progress he is making in his proposals for the provision of cheap British books for underdeveloped territories.

§ 7. Colonel Beamish
asked the Chancel for of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will now make a full statement of the Government's plans, foreshadowed in paragraph 13 of Command Paper No. 685, 830 to encourage the flow of British publications overseas in order that the British point of view may be more widely understood and the large scale efforts of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and China to foster Communism shall be properly countered.

§ The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (Dr. Charles Hill)
The Government's study of ways to encourage the flow of British publications overseas has now been completed. The Government have decided upon the following measures:

(i) To open negotiations with the aim of enabling certain countries to reduce their restrictions on imports of British publications.

(ii) To promote the production of low-priced editions of a range of British books for sale in certain countries where there is a large unsatisfied demand for such books.

(iii) To authorise a further expansion of the British Council's library services and of their arrangements for presentation of books and periodicals.

(iv) To assist, through the British Council, in the further development of library systems in a number of Colonial Territories.

(v) To co-operate with the periodical and newspaper publishers in measures to help them increase their circulations in some of the more difficult markets overseas.
I will, with permission, circulate a more detailed statement in the OFFICIAL REPORT.

Mrs. White
I am sure that hon. Members in all parts of the House will be very glad to learn that the Government are now proposing to take action in this matter. I think we are all delighted, especially after the news which we saw this morning about activities in Formosa. No doubt the right hon. Gentleman is also aware that very large numbers of books are being given by the Chinese and other Governments to libraries in India. Can the right hon. Gentleman tell us about how much it is proposed to expend on these matters?

§ Dr. Hill
It is very difficult to forecast the expenditure, because it depends in no small part on the number and character of the agreements entered into, for 831 which negotiations will now start. Next year, when we shall be beginning to get under way, I estimate, as best I can, the increased expenditure to be about £500,000.

§ Colonel Beamish
In warmly welcoming the announcement which my right hon. Friend has made and which I regard as a very important step in the right direction, may I ask him whether there will be any attempt to co-ordinate these efforts with efforts being made by the United States, which are very considerable in this field?

§ Dr. Hill
There is a degree of coordination with the United States Government, but, at the same time, there is a primary responsibility on us to secure the greater flow of British books and periodicals.

§ Mr. Ede
Will these books be confined to technical books, or will they deal also with philosophy and the English way of life?

§ Dr. Hill
In so far as the increase in the British Council's resources is concerned, there will be a concentration on scientific and technical books. In so far as the schemes to be negotiated with countries where import restrictions prevent the flow are concerned, there will be a wide range of books. They will be the books, as it were, ordered by the customers. In so far as the low-priced books are concerned, they will be books thought to have a wide mass appeal and reflecting British thought and ideas.

§ Lady Gammans
Whilst thanking my right hon. Friend for his reply, may I ask if he can tell us how soon the measures which he has mentioned will come into force, because there is, I think he will agree, some urgency in the matter?

§ Dr. Hill
I am very alive to the urgency, and negotiations on those parts of the proposals which depend on negotiations will begin as soon as possible.

§ Mr. Thomson
Can the right hon. Gentleman say how many titles in the lower-priced books are likely to be published next year and also something about the currency methods to be employed? Is it to be a case of blocked currency as in the United States?

§ Dr. Hill
On the first question, I cannot now give the number of titles, but I can say that in the first phase—next year's phase—I hope it will be possible to reach up to 2 million copies of low-priced books. On the second question, clearly the negotiation of schemes to overcome import restrictions must not exclude the prospect that the currency again will be non-convertible.

§ Mr. Gordon Walker
Whilst welcoming the proposal as a step in the right direction, can the right hon. Gentleman say a word about the cheaper editions? Will they be published in conjunction with private publishers in the form of placing orders and subsidising them, or will the Government themselves publish them?

§ Dr. Hill
It will be done in association with the publishers who own the copyright of the books that it is desired to deal with by a low-price scheme, which will involve Government aid to narrow the gap between the economic price and what can be paid in the countries of reception.

§ Mr. Deedes
Where the question of choice arises, who will be responsible for selection? Will it be the publishers or the British Council?

§ Dr. Hill
I am aware of the delicacy of the matter of the choice of titles. There will be a most responsible advisory committee which will advise on this subject, although in order that the Ministers themselves may be answerable in this House the final decision will be taken by the Minister responsible

§ Mr. Shinwell
Suppose a client desires a certain type of book and that type of book is critical of the Government and their policy. Will there be any restriction on its supply?

§ Dr. Hill
I cannot forecast what delicate criteria will be applied.