DISARMAMENT (Hansard, 20 March 1963)

§ 5. Mr. F. Noel-Baker
asked the Lord Privy Seal which Government Departments are concerned with the disarmament negotiations now in progress at Geneva; which of them are represented in the British delegation; and what is the total number of British officials taking part.

§ Mr. Godber
Responsibility for conducting disarmament negotiations is vested in the Foreign Office, which is advised by the Ministry of Defence and other Government Departments as necessary. The British delegation at Geneva is led by myself, supported by some nine Foreign Service officers and two senior representatives from the Ministry of Defence. When necessary, additional officers from these and from other Government Departments are attached to the Delegation.

§ Mr. Noel-Baker
Would the Government be prepared to look at the composition of the delegation with a view to strengthening it so that we have the most effective possible team at this vital stage in the negotiations?

§ Mr. Godber
If I thought that it needed strengthening, I should not hesitate a moment to recommend that. At the moment we have the third largest delegation at these talks and I think we play a very full part in them.

37. Mr. Milan
asked the Lord Privy Seal, what initiative Her Majesty's Government are taking at the disarmament negotiations in Geneva in the way of proposals on manpower levels.

§ Mr. Godber
There has been no recent discussion of this aspect of disarmament at Geneva.

Mr. Milan
Since the original Russian proposals were for a reduction to 1.7 million at the end of the first stage as compared with the United States figure of 2.1 million, and the Russians have since compromised at a figure of 1.9 million, and since one of our aims has 361 been to get a reduction in Russian conventional forces which are much larger than ours, why cannot the new Russian proposals now be accepted? What is holding up the acceptance of these figures and what are the British Government doing about it?

§ Mr. Godber
This is not a matter which has been the subject of detailed discussion at any time during our discussions in Geneva. I have indicated that the British view is that the difference in figures should not be a stumbling block in reaching agreement, but this is not one of the main issues at all. We are seeking to concentrate on this problem at present.