§ Mrs. Ewingasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs how long the training period is of commercial attaches before they are posted overseas; what steps are taken during training to inform them fully about the manufactures which Scotland has available for export; and what proportion of training is devoted to this subject.
§ Mr. MulleyThe commercial training course at present lasts eight weeks. It is designed primarily to instruct those officers who will be engaged in commercial work about export organisations in the United Kingdom and export promotion techniques, and to show them how best they may assist British exporters generally. It does not deal in detail with specific manufactures available for export from any particular part of the United Kingdom.
However, after the course and prior to an officer's departure overseas, individual briefings, including visits, are arranged by mutual agreement with the firms concerned to cover exports of particular importance in the market to which he is going. Officers also carry out duty tours in the United Kingdom during leave from their overseas posts which enable them to visit and thus to exchange up-to-date views with exporters. These tours are advertised in the Board of Trade Journal.