HL Deb 10 April 1968 vol 291 cc325-6

2.49 p.m.

THE EARL OF DUNDEE

My Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.

[The Question was as follows:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will make a statement on the results of the International Monetary Conference held at Stockholm on the 29th and 30th March, indicating the total amount of Special Drawing Rights which could be made available to all the countries which have agreed to operate the plan; and whether the plan now agreed on differs in any way from that agreed on at Rio in September.]

LORD BESWICK

My Lords, the Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors of the Group of Ten, with one country abstaining, reached agreement at Stockholm on the amendments to the Articles of the International Monetary Fund needed to establish a scheme for Special Drawing Rights. The proposed scheme is closely based on the outline plan adopted at the annual meeting of the Fund in Rio de Janeiro last September. I might add that I in end to go into this subject in rather more detail in the debate which is to follow.

THE EARL OF DUNDEE

My Lords, I should like to thank the noble Lord for his Answer. I am sorry that I cannot be here this evening to listen to the noble Lord's speech, but may I ask him whether there has been any final agreement on what majority of voting power in the I.M.F. will be needed to activate the Special Drawing Rights, and whether these Rights could be activated before the next annual meeting of the in September?

LORD BESWICK

My Lords, agreement on the amendments will require three-fifths majority of the members with four-fifths of the voting power. The scheme of the Drawing Rights should be activated by about the middle of 1969 but, of course, the final details are still to be settled.

LORD FRASER OF LONSDALE

My Lords, having regard to the relatively narrow margin whereby the free gold price varies from the official price, may I ask the noble Lord whether there is not a case for a really open-minded reconsideration of the advantages of a free gold price, which would seem to many to be a better way of curing the world's financial troubles than trying to rely on paper money?

LORD BESWICK

My Lords, I think there has been a very open-minded consideration of this problem, but as I shall try to show later on. I think the decision leads away from the conclusion which the noble Lord draws.