§ Mr. Swinglerasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he will publish a list of the Committees which have reviewed the organisation of the foreign service since 1945; and what proposals for reorganisation are now under consideration.
Commander NobleNo Committees have, since 1945, reviewed the organisation of the Foreign Service as a whole. Certain aspects of its organisation have been covered in the following reports:
- (a) In its 13th Report, in the 1952–53 session, on "Assistance to Exporters", the Select Committee on Estimates dealt, inter alia, with commercial representation overseas.
- (b) In its 7th Report in the 1953–54 session, the Select Committee on Estimates considered various aspects of the administration of the Foreign Service.
- (c) In. April. 1954, and July, 1957, Reports were presented to Parliament on the Overseas Information Services. These dealt in part with the information work of the Foreign Service (these were published as Command 9138 and Command 225 respectively).
The organisation of the Foreign Service is always under Departmental review and minor modifications are made from time 66W to time. No major proposals for the reorganisation of the Foreign Service are now under consideration.