§ Mr. Boothbyasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether gold is to be made the basis of international credit under the proposals of the Final Act of the Bretton Woods Conference; and whether, under these proposals, the external value of the pound would be expressed, or fixed, in terms of gold.
§ Sir J. AndersonI see no ground for the suggestion in the first part of the Question. As to the second part, Section 1 of Article IV of the Final Act provides that the par value of the currency of each member shall be expressed in terms of gold as a common denomina- 1951W tor or in terms of the United States dollar of the weight and fineness in effect on 1st July, 1944.
§ Mr. Bellengerasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, in view of the Final Act of the Bretton Woods Conference, Great Britain is to be required to undertake from altering the gold parity of sterling by more than 10 per cent. without the consent of the International Monetary Fund.
§ Sir J. AndersonNo, Sir. The final decision would under the Bretton Woods proposals rest with member Governments. But changes may only be made after consultation with the Fund, and if a change is made despite the objections of the Fund in cases where the Fund is entitled to object, the member may be declared ineligible to use the resources of the Fund; and if, after a reasonable period, a difference on the matter between a member and the Fund continues, that member, after being given an adequate opportunity to state its case, may be required to withdraw from membership by a majority of the Governors representing a majority of the total voting power. The Fund is not entitled to object to changes not exceeding 10 per cent.