§ Q6. Mr. Warbeyasked the Prime Minister whether, in view of the need to plan and co-ordinate Great Britain's external trading relations following the breakdown of the Common Market negotiations, he will now appoint a senior Minister with special responsibilities for overseas trade.
§ The Prime MinisterResponsibility for overseas trade rests with the President of the Board of Trade.
§ Mr. WarbeyIs the right hon. Gentleman aware that today our external economic relations are nearly as important as our external political relations and that the President of the Board of Trade has far too much to do to allow him to deal with our internal economic affairs, and that the Foreign Office is not equipped to deal with these matters? Will not he give a senior Minister his own Department to deal with them?
§ The Prime MinisterI think that experience has shown that what we now have is the best procedure. At one time we did have a Department of Overseas Trade which was subordinate to the President, or which worked under him. After considerable experience of that it was decided to put the full responsibility on the President, and, on the whole, I think that the best system.
§ Sir C. OsborneSince there is a danger that we may lose a considerable amount of trade in Europe as a result of the breakdown of the talks in Brussels, 664 will my right hon. Friend assure the House that every step will be taken to increase East-West trade as a kind of compensation?
§ The Prime MinisterWhether the Brussels negotiations succeeded or not, it is our purpose to extend trade wherever possible and by whatever possible means.
Mr. H. WilsonWill the Prime Minister check again on what he has said about the former Department of Overseas Trade, because I do not think that it was quite right—although that is not the important point? Will the right hon. Gentleman tell the House whether the First Secretary of State is still in charge of the co-ordination of Government policy, as he was supposed to be during the Brussels negotiations? Is he still in charge of all the Government decisions following the breakdown of the Brussels negotiations?
§ The Prime MinisterI am speaking from memory, and though I may have made a mistake about the precise relation, I do remember that there was a period when we had a Department of Overseas Trade under a Minister but not a Minister of Cabinet rank—under the Foreign Office, or jointly responsible to the Foreign Office and the Board of Trade; but not of Cabinet rank. We changed that and put it with the Board of Trade. I think that, on the whole, it is a better system, although it is a matter for argument. There was a change in 1946, and the right hon. Gentleman is an expert on these affairs. On the second point, there was a Committee presided over by my right hon. Friend for the conduct of the negotiations in Brussels. Now we have to consider how we shall organise our affairs to deal with future problems. But I should not like to say anything precise about those. No doubt it will be raised in the debate next week.