§ Q8. Mr. Barnettasked the Prime Minister if he will make a statement on his talks with Mr. Emile Van Lennep the Secretary-General of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, in Paris on 12th November.
§ Q11. Mr. John Fraserasked the Prime Minister if he will make a statement about his official talks in November with the Secretary-General of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
§ The Prime MinisterMr. Van Lennep paid a courtesy call on me on the 11th November and we discussed the work of the O.E.C.D.
§ Mr. BarnettAs the O.E.C.D. has forecast that in the next ten years Britain's rate of economic growth will be lower than that of most member countries and as this is clearly out of line with the right hon. Gentleman's election promises, will he now disagree publicly with that forecast?
§ The Prime MinisterThe forecast of this country's growth was made before the election, under the Labour Administration, and was widely discussed at the time. The object of this Government's policy, as I have constantly emphasised, is to get a higher rate of growth commensurate with getting on top of inflation.
§ Mr. FraserWill the Prime Minister tell us what information he gave to the Secretary-General of the O.E.C.D. about controlling inflation and rises in prices, apart from his oft-quoted cliché of telling people to stand on their own two feet?
§ The Prime MinisterWe had a discussion about the various proposals which would appear in the Report of the O.E.C.D., which has been published, on 1465 the general subject of inflation. Some of these proposals we accept; others we dispute.