§ 4.42 p.m.
§ THE MARQUESS OF SALISBURYMy Lords, I think your Lordships will forgive me if I interrupt the Business of the House in order to make a statement which is being made in another place by my right honourable friend the Prime Minister. The statement runs as follows:
"The Government announced on December 6 last that it had decided to make a grant of £1 00,000 to the Anglo-Egyptian Aid. Society to assist British subjects from Egypt. Since then the Society, with the assistance of other voluntary organisations, has worked extremely hard to deal with pressing personal problems. The Society has performed a most valuable task in difficult and strenuous circumstances and I should like to take this opportunity of expressing the Government's appreciation of the way in which voluntary workers have risen to the demands of this emergency.
"About four thousand people have now reached this country from Egypt and more are still arriving. The operation of assisting these people and enabling them to start their life again will be a large one. The Society has itself taken the view that as a voluntary welfare organisation it should be relieved of the growing responsibility for making payments from Government funds. The Government accepts this view, and proposes to set up a new body to be known as the Anglo-Egyptian Resettlement Board. I am glad to be able to tell the House that the noble Lord, Lord Colyton, has accepted an invitation to serve as Chairman of the Board, and that among the other Members will be 454 the noble Earl, Lord Listowel, Sir Humphrey Trevelyan and representatives of the Anglo-Egyptian Aid Society and the other voluntary organisations. The Board will take over the grant-in-aid front the Exchequer.
"The function of the Board will be to co-ordinate all the work at present being done to assist British subjects from Egypt, including the running of the hostels and the giving of financial help; until the Board is ready to assume this responsibility, the Society will continue its present work.
"An organisation has also been set up within the Foreign Office to classify claims against the Government of Egypt of persons who suffered loss on their departure. A special section is now in being which is recording information about the assets of British nationals in Egypt affected by the measure taken by the Egyptian Government and about other debts outstanding. Both firms and individuals have been invited to submit information on these matters to the Foreign Office. It is hoped that this can be done expeditiously.
" Meanwhile, the Resettlement Board will be authorised to deal with the needs of any British subjects who have come to the United Kingdom as a result of recent events in Egypt and are in need. In helping these people, the Board will deal with each individual case on its merits and, in addition to paying allowances, they will be authorised to meet immediate educational commitments and to make grants or loans in appropriate cases.
"In particular, the Board will be authorised to make advances as may be necessary to former pensioners of the Egyptian. Government up to the full amount of the pension due until arrangements are made for the Egyptian Government again to discharge its contractual obligations."
§ 4.45 p.m.
§ VISCOUNT ALEXANDER OF HILLSBOROUGHMy Lords, I am much obliged to the noble Marquess, the Leader of the House, for giving us this statement. We welcome the appointment of the new Anglo-Egyptian Resettlement Board which is mentioned in the statement. There is a matter about which we are specially anxious. In view of the size of the problem, we wonder whether we can be assured, in the first place, that the Government accept (I hope they do) full responsibility for advancing sufficient money to ensure that none of these Anglo-Egyptian people who have been evicted and who are British citizens shall be allowed to suffer any hardship as a result. That is the first point. The second point, which was referred to briefly in the statement, is the importance of securing at the earliest possible moment a comprehensive statement from Egypt as to what is proposed to be done with regard to the release of the assets of the British citizens who have themselves been evicted. If we could have a little assurance upon that matter we should be very glad.
§ THE MARQUESS OF SALISBURYI can assure the noble Viscount that the whole purpose of this scheme is to avoid hardship. That will be the aim which will be in the minds, I am certain, of the new Resettlement Board.
§ VISCOUNT ALEXANDER OF HILLSBOROUGHWith all the funds necessary?
§ THE MARQUESS OF SALISBURYYes, I think that if the noble Viscount will look at the statement he will see that it is the full intention of the Government to provide the funds for that purpose. I should say, in passing, that the residue of the £100,000 which was originally given as a grant-in-aid to the Anglo-Egyptian Aid Society will be transferred to the new body. There was a certain amount, I understand, of other money which was subscribed from private sources to the Anglo-Egyptian Aid Society. That, of course, will continue to be administered by the Society in the exercise of its ordinary functions. The noble Viscount raised a wider point as to Egyptian obligations to us.
§ VISCOUNT ALEXANDER OF HILLSBOROUGHThe release of assets.
§ THE MARQUESS OF SALISBURYIt seems to me that the first thing to be done is to establish the amount of the claims against the Egyptian Government. As I explained in the statement which I have made the Government are setting up machinery under the Foreign Office for that purpose. It should then be possible to formulate further policy which does not, I hope, absolve the Egyptian Government from its clear responsibilities.
§ LORD HADEN-GUESTMay I ask whether this will include British citizens who normally live in Malta, as well as those who live in this country?
§ THE MARQUESS OF SALISBURYI can assure the noble Lord that British citizens wherever they are will be treated in the same way.
§ LORD KILLEARNMy Lords, arising out of the Government statement, I hope I shall be in order if I raise one or two subsidiary points. The first is: when will the new Board get to work? I notice no reference in the statement to the use of Egyptian Government funds. I presume that that has been left out intentionally for the moment. The next point relates to moral responsibility—for which I pressed when I spoke some days ago. That is not covered in the statement. I refer, of course, to the moral responsibility of the British Government. Is that omission intentional? My last point is a rather more detailed one. What is to happen with regard to these people who have had deposits in British banks in Cairo—of which there are many? All these have been seized. I presume that that is the sort of point with which the new Board will deal.
§ THE MARQUESS OF SALISBURYMy Lords, the first point upon which the noble Lord, Lord Killearn, asked a question related to the time when the new organisation would begin to function. I was told by my noble friend Lord Colyton just now that they have already set up an office and are beginning their work at once. I think that all the other questions which the noble Lord has put are covered by the answer which I have already given to the noble Viscount, Lord Alexander of Hillsborough.
§ LORD KILLEARNI thank the noble Marquess.
LORD GIFFORDMy Lords, arising out of what the noble Lord, Lord Killearn, said, I understand that some of these refugees have assets in this country, including investments in War Loan which they obtained during the war when specially requested to do so, but they are not allowed to touch this War Loan and securities because they are in blocked sterling accounts. I wonder whether that could be looked into.
§ THE MARQUESS OF SALISBURYMy Lords, I understand that this particular point is already before the Government and that they are looking into it as a matter of urgency.