§ Mr. McCrindleasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what has been the cost to the taxpayer in each of the past two years of Government-sponsored cultural trips, visits and exchanges with EEC countries; and how this compares with similar expenditure in connection with such visits to Iron Curtain countries.
§ Mr. EnnalsThe information requested is not readily available, and to assemble it in the form required would incur a disproportionate cost to public funds. However, the British Council is Her Majesty's Government's principal agent for the disbursement of funds for international cultural relations. For purposes of comparison its programme budgets for activities in the European Community and the Eastern European countries listed below, in the last two complete financial years, were:
European Community: 1973–74 £2,109,000 1974–75 £2,474,000
Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, German Democratic Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia: 1973–74 £1,134,000 1974–75 £1,391,000