§ Captain Bullockasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, in view of the provisions of the Anglo-French Cultural Convention, what special steps are to be taken to facilitate the great increase in the number of French students and young persons visiting Great Britain during the Festival Year of 1951.
§ Mr. Ernest DaviesThe increased numbers of French students and young42W persons who are expected as visitors during the Festival Year will be able to take advantage of the extra facilities provided by the British Council, the British Travel and Holidays Association and the Central Bureau for Educational Visits and Exchanges, to accommodate foreign visitors attending the Festival of Britain. In addition, the City Parochial Foundation is arranging a camp at Chigwell to accommodate some 25,000 young foreigners in batches of 2,000 throughout the Festival period and the British National Committee of the World Assembly of Youth propose to invite, among others, a French delegation to take advantage of the accommodation which is being allotted to them for two weeks and to spend a further three weeks in private homes.
A further 15,000 young French volunteers are likely to visit the United Kingdom during the Festival Year under the auspices of the organisation "Concordia." I am always willing to consider any suggestions put forward by the Anglo-French Mixed Commission for the removal of difficulties facing students and young people who wish to visit this country.