§ 60. Mr. C. Osborneasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in view of the continued inflow of hot money to London, and the danger this represents in the case of its sudden withdrawal, and in view of the fact that it masks the balance of payments position, if he will consider recommending that very low rates of interest should be paid on it as is done in Switzerland; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. BarberI do not think it would be wise to place further restrictions on the functioning of London as an international financial centre. The inflow of funds in recent months—by no means all of it to be regarded as hot money—has supported the reserves during a period of some weakness in the overseas trading position, and we have taken the opportunity to repay our debt to the International Monetary Fund. It is certainly necessary to improve our balance of trade and the Government is doing all it can to stress the importance of exports