§ Lord Balnielasked the Secretary for Technical Co-operation what consideration he has given to the possibility of developing overseas service by young volunteers as a joint Commonwealth venture.
Mr. CarrI have sympathy with the idea behind this suggestion and will keep the possibilities under review; but I see practical difficulties in putting it into effect at this stage.
Schemes for overseas service by volunteers now exist in four Commonwealth countries including the United Kingdom. They are carried out by voluntary bodies with governments giving varying degrees of support. Any scheme of the kind suggested would have to be endorsed and executed by all these voluntary organisations and at a time when rapid development is the chief need, an attempt at such co-ordination might hinder rather than help.