§ Mr. Grenfellasked the Prime Minister whether he has any statement to make on the situation in Spain?
§ Mr. ButlerOn 28th March Madrid surrendered to General Franco's forces. Shortly afterwards all effective resistance ceased elsewhere and the whole of Spanish territory passed under the control of the Spanish Government; His Majesty's Government are about to make the further contribution of£40,000 to the International Commission for the Assistance of 189W Child Refugees in Spain which they promised in the event of the need still existing after 1st April. It is anticipated that a part of this contribution will be used for relief purposes within Spain, where the Commission is doing valuable work in co-operation with the Spanish relief authorities, and part for the relief of Spanish refugees in France and also those recently transported to Oran in merchant vessels. Satisfactory reports have been received of the work being carried on in the internment camps in South-Eastern France by the British Red Cross Society as the result of the grant of£50,000 recently received from His Majesty's Government.
In addition to these grants His Majesty's Government have been considering whether there was any further step which they could take to assist the Spanish Government in dealing with the problem with which the latter are faced in providing for the immediate needs of the population in the areas recently occupied by them, and they have now decided to make a gift to the Spanish Government of 500 tons of foodstuffs for the relief of the poor and needy in Madrid. These provisions will be transported from Bilbao to Madrid by a convoy of 25 lorries provided by His Majesty's Government for the purpose and driven by British drivers.