§ 2.39 p.m.
§ LORD BARNBYMy Lords, I beg leave to ask the first Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper:
§ [The Question was as follows:
§ To ask Her Majesty's Government (a) by what sterling equivalent has the outstanding United Kingdom debt to Canada been increased in sterling since it was contracted; (b) what is the estimated value of Canadian investment in the United Kingdom in its relation to the present value of the United Kingdom Government debt to Canada.]
LORD ST. OSWALDMy Lords, I assume that my noble friend is referring to the line of credit negotiated in 1946. Drawings against this line of credit were spread over a period of four years. Immediately before the devalution of September, 1949, the sterling equivalent of the amount which had already been drawn was £272 million. It then changed to £356 million, and this increased to £385 million—that is, 1,185 million Canadian dollars—as a result of further drawings. At March 31 of this year (that is, 1.2 days ago) the sterling equivalent of the outstanding credit of 1,064 million Canadian dollars was £396 million. As regards the second part of the noble Lord's Question, the Canadian authorities have estimated that at the end of 1957 Canadian private investment, both direct and portfolio, in the United Kingdom amounted to 214 million Canadian dollars.