§ Mr. Nigel JonesTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the use by the Treasury of bank accounts overseas, indicating(a) what funds are held overseas, (b) in which countries these funds are held and (c) how much interest has been raised in each of the past five years for which figures are available. [5019]
§ Mrs. Helen LiddellThe Government's gold and foreign currency reserves are managed by the Bank of England in the Exchange Equalisation Account. Some of the assets of the Account are held with overseas banks. For reasons of security and confidentiality, no further details are published. Under section 4 of the Exchange Equalisation Account Act 1979, the Comptroller and Auditor General is required to certify to the House of Commons that operations on, and transactions in connection with, the Account have been in accordance with the provisions of the legislation.