§ Mr. Gordon Walkerasked the Prime Minister what additional aid is to be provided by Her Majesty's Government for relief of the disaster at Skopje; and what steps he is taking to co-ordinate the actions of the Government Departments involved.
§ The Prime MinisterMy right hon. Friend the Lord Privy Seal informed the House on Monday of Her Majesty's Government's gift of £10,000 and of the various gifts in money and kind made by the voluntary societies. On Tuesday we were informed by the Yugoslav authorities that immediate requirements of relief supplies, such as medicine, food and clothing had already been met and that no further medical supplies or medical volunteers were needed. The immediate need was for temporary housing. On the same evening two tons of frames for pre-fabricated housing, donated by the War on Want organisation, were flown out to Belgrade by the Royal Air Force. The same aircraft carried 2 tons of baby food and 7 cwt. of blankets.
My right hon. Friend also stated that Her Majesty's Government would give sympathetic consideration to the possibility of affording further help as soon as the full Yugoslav needs could be assessed. We have since received detailed advice from H.M. Embassy in Belgrade. In the light of this the Government will take the following steps:—
First, to make a further gift of £10,000 to provide immediate assistance which may in part take the form of providing temporary accommodation or other supplies from stocks owned by Departments;
Second, in response to a request from the Government of Yugoslavia for long term credits, to offer a loan of £500,000 towards the reconstruction 167W of Skopje. This loan would be made under Section 3 of the Export Guarantees Act and would be available to pay for British goods and equipment which the Yugoslav authorities might require in due course for the rebuilding of the City. The full terms of this loan would be for negotiation with the Government of Yugoslavia;
Third, the Government axe prepared to provide funds for the transport to Yugoslavia of goods which may be purchased out of private donations through the voluntary societies concerned.