§ Mr. HUTCHISONasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he can make any statement as to the progress and activities of the Film Institute which was established to recommend the exhibition of selected films in the British Colonies where there is a large native population?
§ Sir P. CUNLIFFE-LISTERI assume that my hon. Friend refers to the committee nominated by the Secretary of State for the Colonies to assist the British United Film Producers Company, Limited, in the selection of suitable films for exhibition in the Colonies. As was explained to the hon. and gallant Member for Blackpool (Captain Erskine-Boist) in reply to a question on 18th April, 1932, of which I am sending my hon. Friend a copy, this committee is a purely advisory body and is not under Government control. I understand, however, that the services of the committee have been of great value to the company, and I am informed that the committee have already examined large numbers of films (probably totalling over 1,000,000 feet) for export to the West Indies, East and West Africa and Mauritius. So far as is known, none of the films selected by the committee as suitable for export to the Colonies has yet been rejected by the local censorship authorities.