HC Deb 26 October 1977 vol 936 cc1439-40

I now turn to certain aspects of our overseas financial position. In our present circumstances it would clearly be wrong for us to take up any further drawings on our standby with the IMF. We shall therefore not take up at the end of November the 310 million special drawing rights which then become available. The Managing Director of the IMF has been informed of this decision. Our full drawing rights under the standby will, of course, remain intact. We intend to keep the standby in place until its expiry at the end of next year, and mid-term discussions with the IMF on our economic strategy will shortly be taking place as envisaged in our Letter of Intent.