§ Mr. Whitakerasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what progress has been made recently in the establishment of a permanent United Nations peacekeeping force.
§ Mrs. WhiteThere has been no recent progress towards the establishment of a permanent United Nations Peacekeeping Force. Her Majesty's Government support the creation of such a force as an ultimate goal. It is an essential element in the West's disarmament plans. However, we must recognise that the creation of a permanent force is impracticable in present circumstances since the political and financial considerations involved rule out, for the moment, any possibility of international agreement upon it. This N iew is shared by the Secretary-General himself.
In these circumstances, it is the policy of Her Majesty's Government to give maximum support to the peacekeeping activities of the United Nations. This sup
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MERCHANT NAVY-NATIONAL STANDARD RATES OF PAY Date Basic Monthly Rates (with free food) Seafarers' War Risk Money Maximum Efficient Service Pay Able Seamen's Certificate Able Seamen Assistant Stewards per month per month per month £ s. d. £ s. d. £ s. d. £ s. d. £ s. d. At … … 1st January, 1945 … … 14 0 0 13 0 0 10 0 0 — — 1st April, 1947 … … 20 0 0 19 0 0 — 4 0 0 — 1st March, 1951 … … 22 0 0 21 0 0 — 4 0 0 — 28th January, 1952 … … 24 0 0 23 0 0 — 4 0 0 — 25th January, 1954 … … 25 10 0 24 10 0 — 4 0 0 — 30th May, 1955 … … 27 10 0 26 10 0 — 4 0 0 10 0 14th May, 1956 … … 29 10 0 28 10 0 — 4 0 0 10 0 22nd July, 1957 … … 31 10 0 30 10 0 — 4 5 0 10 0 10th November, 1958 … … 33 5 0 32 5 0 — 4 5 0 10 0 29th August, 1960 … … 35 15 0 34 15 0 — 4 5 0 10 0 12th June, 1961 … … 35 15 0 34 15 0 — 4 10 0 1 0 0 12th September, 1962 … … 37 2 10 36 3 10 — 4 10 0 1 0 0 24th February, 1964 … … 39 10 6 38 11 5 — 4 10 0 1 0 0 29th March, 1965 … … 40 13 6 39 14 3 — 5 10 0 1 0 0 port in practical terms consists of our contributions towards the cost of the existing peacekeeping operations, including substantial voluntary contributions in cash and in units of our Armed Forces to the United Nations Force in Cyprus, and an offer to provide logistic backing for up to six battalions in future peacekeeping operations. We welcome the practice of certain other governments in maintaining similar stand-by forces and hope that this practice will be increasingly followed as a step towards the eventual formation of a permanent United Nations force.