§ Mr. Russellasked the Lord Privy Seal if he will state the cause of the increased expenditure incurred by the Laos Commission, necessitating an increased grant; whether the other three participating countries are paying their share; and how many persons are employed by the commissions in Indo-China.
§ Mr. HeathThe cause of the increased expenditure on the International Control Commission in Laos is the reactivation of the Commission in April, 1961, after its adjournment in July, 1958.
The operating expenses of the reconvened Commission were met in the first place by the Indian Government, who later appealed to the Geneva Conference on Laos to meet these costs. The Governments of France, China, the 138W Soviet Union, the United States and the United Kingdom agreed to make ad hoc grants, of which account will be taken when a permanent formula for sharing costs amongst all members of the Conference is agreed. So far all five powers have made one round of payments of $100,000 each, and the United Kingdom has made a further contribution of $200,000. At the instance of the Indian Government the Co-Chairmen have approached the other four powers to make a similar second contribution.
The total numbers of persons employed full-time by the three Commissions in Indo-China is 731; of these 351 are Indian, Polish or Canadian nationals whose salaries are paid by their Governments, and a proportion are locally employed staff, towards whose emoluments the United Kingdom makes no contribution.