§ Mr. R. Gibsonasked the Lord Privy-Seal as representing the Minister of Information, whether he will explain the jurisdiction and functions of the Ministry of Information, Scottish Regional Office, 1, Grosvenor Crescent, Edinburgh; how far newspaper men in Scotland are to be responsible to that office instead of to the office of the Ministry in London; and whether he will give an assurance that the setting up of this office in Edinburgh will not place Scottish newspaper correspondents at a disadvantage relative to their English brethren in the matter of celerity in obtaining sanction to publish news matter submitted to them?
§ Sir E. GriggThe office to which the hon. Member refers is that of the Chief Regional Information Officer of the Ministry of Information for Scotland. Similar offices have been established in each of the Home Security Regions to deal with matters of regional interest and to facilitate the rapid and effective regional distribution of the services provided by the Ministry of Information. The Ministry's Regional Offices are not at present exercising, either in Scotland or elsewhere, powers of censorship, though, in the event of such a breakdown of communications as would necessitate the autonomous functioning of the several Home Security Regions, they would have to do so. The hon. Member may rest assured that the establishment of this office in Scotland neither implies nor involves any sort of discrimination against Scottish, as compared with any other, newspaper correspondents.