§ Mr. W. Fletcherasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether his regulations permit sterling balances held in this country, both by members of the sterling block and by other countries or individuals, to be "transferable without permission of the Exchange Control, or whether sterling balances of this nature are to be considered as blocked sterling, being only transferable with the direct consent of His Majesty's Government through the Exchange Control.
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§ Sir S. CrippsSterling balances held by residents of the scheduled territories may as a rule be used freely within those territories, but payments to countries other than the scheduled territories require Exchange Control permission. Sterling balances held by non-residents of the scheduled territories may be used only subject to Exchange Control permission; but certain general exemptions are provided for in the Exchange Control (Payments) Order, 1948, Statutory Instrument No. 1080 of 1948 of which I am sending the hon. Member a copy. These enable such balances held by nonresidents (other than blocked sterling) to be spent in the scheduled territories or transferred to other non-residents, as detailed in the Order.