§ Mr. Lunnasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he will explain the purpose of the amendment of the standing rules and orders in Northern Rhodesia to provide for the establishment of a standing finance committee; and, in particular, whether it is intended to have the significance ascribed to it by the elected member who moved it in the Northern Rhodesian legislative council?
§ Mr. Ormsby-GoreThe Standing Finance Committee was established in order to afford an opportunity of consultation with the elected members of Legislative Council in the preparation of the draft Estimates of the Protectorate, and in the consideration of any proposals for expenditure not covered by the annual Estimates. The creation of a Standing Finance Committee in Northern Rhodesia similar to those already in existence in certain other Colonial Dependencies marks a further advance in the process of securing fuller co-operation and consultation with representatives of the unofficial community on major questions of financial policy.