§ Mr. Austin Mitchellasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what classes of lending or borrowing involving overseas residents and the £ sterling, or United Kingdom residents and foreign currencies, are outside the definition of sterling M3 and domestic credit expansion, respectively; what is the estimated value of these transactions in the year preceding the abolition of exchange controls and in the period since; and to what extent these transactions would come under effective control as a result of (a) the changes which the Government propose in the monetary system and (b) a monetary base system which covered only the banks' reserves with the Bank of England, with a current or lagged mandatory requirement.
§ Mr. LawsonI shall let the hon. Member have a reply as soon as possible.