HC Deb 11 February 1965 vol 706 c520
16. Mr. Chapman

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what reply he is making to the request made by the Government of Dominica that, on the principle that regional institutions shall not be concentrated in any one territory but shall be dispersed among the islands, this island should be the site of a regional agricultural school on the lines of the former Eastern Caribbean Farm Institute.

Mrs. White

A reply is still under consideration. The Eastern Caribbean Farm Institute in Trinidad still exists, and its facilities are available to the territories of this area. The Secretary of State has received no proposals from the Governments concerned that it should be replaced, and the question of where the replacement, if any, should be located is therefore premature.

Mr. Chapman

As Barbados has the police training centre, Antigua has the teacher training centre, and St. Kitts has the regional technical college, is it not time that Dominica got something in this area? Is my hon. Friend aware that the poverty in this island is a disgrace to the British name, and that it is about time we did something more active to revive its economy and give it better facilities?

Mrs. White

That may be so, but my hon. Friend realises that his Question refers specifically to a farm institute. Until we have had discussions with the other territories, which are equally involved in the question of a farm institute, it would be premature to give any decision on this question.