§ Dr. A. Thompsonasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he will make provision for selected Foreign Service officers to take paid study leave at those United States universities which conduct advanced specialised studies in foreign affairs, details of which have been sent to him by the hon. Member for Dunfermline Burghs.
§ Mr. R. AllanMy right hon. and learned Friend is anxious that the Foreign Service should profit as far as possible from the studies of foreign affairs undertaken in United States universities and institutions. The British Embassy in 101W Washington is in touch with a number of these, and members of the staff frequently take part in seminars and discussions at them. For the past two years a senior Foreign Service officer has been appointed to spend a year at the Center for International Affairs at Harvard. A number of other officers have studied related subjects at various American institutions before or after passing into the Foreign Service.
§ Dr. A. Thompsonasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether, with a view to introducing similar arrangements into the Foreign Service, he will send a member of his staff to consult with the United States State Department in order to examine its method of providing comprehensive studies, by area and subject, for Foreign Service officers, and the way in which it works in close liaison with selected universities in the training of diplomats.
§ Mr. R. AllanMy right hon. and learned Friend does not consider it necessary to send a member of the Foreign Service to undertake the consultations suggested by the hon. Member. Views are frequently exchanged with the United States Foreign Service on matters of common interest in the field of administration. Two senior members of the staff of the Personnel Department have each served for four years at the Embassy in Washington and are familiar with these matters.
§ Dr. A. Thompsonasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs to what extent he enables Foreign Service officers, during the course of their careers, to attend refresher courses involving the historical, economic and political development of selected regions of the world, and in specialised subjects such as language, commerce, trade union studies and sociology at British or foreign universities.
§ Mr. R. AllanThe Foreign Service makes arrangements for officers to receive language training at various universities in this country and abroad. As I have explained in the Answer to another Question from the hon. Member, a senior officer has been appointed in each of the past two years to attend the Center for International Affairs at Harvard. Other officers have studied special102W subjects at various universities in this country or abroad before or immediately after passing into the Service.
Foreign Service officers acquire knowledge of other subjects referred to in the Question by means of training given within the Service or on secondment or attachment to other Government Departments, and to international organisations and non-governmental bodies. There are introductory courses for new entrants which cover a wide range of subjects such as languages, commerce and industrial and labour questions. There are also refresher courses in information, consular and economic and commercial work as well as in languages. Language training, which goes on all the time, normally includes the study of conditions in the country concerned.
There is an active and sizeable Research Cadre within the Foreign Service whose province is the study of historical, economic and political developments in the various regions of the world.