§ Mr. Dempseyasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what reply he has sent to the representations he has 25W received from the Airdrie branch of the United Nations Association concerning the future of Development Decade; and if he will make a statement on Her Majesty's Government's policy regarding the Development Decade.
§ Mr. P. ThomasI am writing to the hon. Gentleman to explain that the Airdrie branch of the United Nations Association have unfortunately misunderstood Her Majesty's Government's policy towards the Development Decade, and particularly the purpose of a resolution recently sponsored by the United Kingdom delegation at the United Nations General Assembly. The true purpose of this resolution was explained in my right hon. Friend's reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Hertfordshire, South-West (Mr. Longden) on November 20th and in my replies to the hon. Gentlemen the Members for Fife, West (Mr. W. Hamilton) and Sheffield, Attercliffe (Mr. J. Hynd) on November 25th. The resolution which was co-sponsored by many delegations from developing countries, including Ceylon, Ghana, Liberia and Nepal, was adopted in Committee by acclamation on December 3rd.
It remains the policy of Her Majesty's Government to support the purposes of the United Nations Development Decade, to which we make a major contribution.