§ Mr. Gledhillasked the President of the Board of Trade what use is now being made of the Department of Overseas Trade; and in what respect it is anticipated that its post-war activities will differ from its pre-war activities?
§ Mr. DaltonThe Department of Overseas Trade administers the commercial diplomatic service in foreign countries and the trade commissioner service in Empire countries; it collects commercial and economic intelligence from overseas for present and future use; and deals with some 2,000 inquiries a month about current export trade. As I informed the House on 3rd February, in the course of my statement on post-war economic policy, my hon. Friend the Secretary to the Overseas Trade Department is presiding over a committee on post-war export prospects, and discussions have already taken place with 52 export industries. It is not possible at present to anticipate the precise post-war arrangements which will be made for dealing with these exceedingly important matters.