§ 9. Mr. Geoffrey Lloydasked the Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations what are the present activities of the Commonwealth Secretariat; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Cledwyn HughesI would refer the hon. Member to my reply to the hon. Member for Gosport and Fareham (Dr. Bennett) given on 27th October. It will inevitably take time for the staff now being assembled to develop the full activities envisaged in the Agreed Memorandum.
The Secretary-General attended the Commonwealth Finance Ministers' meeting in Jamaica in September, and part of the Commonwealth Medical Conference in Edinburgh in October.
He has been developing contacts with the British and other Commonwealth Governments and various Commonwealth organisations. At the request of the Prime Minister of Malaysia, he assisted in the processing of Singapore's application for Commonwealth membership.
I understand that the Secretary-General is planning to visit certain other Commonwealth countries shortly for discussions.
§ Mr. LloydCould the hon. Gentleman give any details of the staff and the Commonwealth countries from which they come?
§ Mr. HughesYes, Sir. In addition to the Secretary-General, two deputy secretaries have been appointed and three other senior staff out of art agreed strength of 11. Of an agreed strength of 24 junior staff, eight have been appointed. As to the nationalities of the staff, the six senior staff are from Australia, Canada, Ceylon, Ghana, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Of the eight junior staff, three 851 are from the United Kingdom, two from Nigeria, one from Australia, one from Jamaica and one from Ceylon.