§ 16. Mr. Geoffrey Finsbergasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the present total of medium and short-term official overseas debt; and how this compares with October 1964 and June 1970.
§ Mr. BarberThe total of short- and medium-term official external debt, converted at parity rates, was as follows: at end-September 1964, £71 million; end-June 1970, £1,461 million; and at the present time, nil.
§ Mr. FinsbergDoes my right hon. Friend agree that those are extremely interesting figures? Will he arrange to let the House have similar figures a little more frequently as they show exactly what inimical results the trade union movement is achieving when it tries to sabotage national industry?
§ Mr. BarberOne thing which we determined to do when we took office in June 1970 was to rid ourselves of this debt which had been contracted by the previous Government.
§ Dr. GilbertIn view of the galloping deterioration in the balance of payments position over the last few months and the predictions of the London and Cambridge model, which is very close to the model used by the Treasury, will the Chancellor say whether he intends during the next few months to deal with the situation by imposing more exchange control, by borrowing abroad or by facing a haemorrhage of reserves and letting the rate sink even further, with serious results to the cost of living and the payments to be made to the European Community?
§ Mr. BarberIn the Budget Statement on 6th March I shall be dealing with the balance of payments. Not only have we repaid all the official debt but, in addition, our reserves are now twice as large as they were when the hon. Gentleman's party left office.
§ Mr. JayWill the Chancellor of the Exchequer, who no doubt carries all these figures in his head, tell us what was the balance of payments deficit in October 1964, June 1970 and January 1973?
§ Mr. BarberI have a faint suspicion that the right hon. Gentleman knows the answer to that question.