§ 45. Mr. Callaghanasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish a table showing for each year since 1954 the gross foreign exchange cost to the balance of payments of maintaining British forces in Germany, and how much has been offset by German purchases of arms and other contributions; what is his estimate of the cost for 1964; and in what circumstances a request can be made to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation for assistance in meeting the drain on the balance of payments.
§ Mr. Boyd-CarpenterI am circulating below a table showing the total Deutschemark cost borne by this country in maintaining British forces in Germany from 1954 to 1960, and also showing the direct financial contributions towards these costs received by Her Majesty's Government up to 1960, after which these contributions ceased. Thereafter the total Deutschemark cost was £60 million in 1961, £65 million in 1962 and £76 million in 1963.
The position in the two financial years 1962–63 and 1963–64 was governed by the Agreed Minute of 6th June, 1962 (Cmnd. 1766), under which transactions equivalent to £107 million in the two-year period in respect of defence and other contracts were brought to account.
48WFigures relating Federal German purchases in the United Kingdom to British stationing costs in Germany were not compiled prior to the Agreed Minute of 6th June, 1962.
The gross foreign exchange cost for the current year is estimated at about £85 million.
Article 6 of Protocol No. II of the Revised Brussels Treaty provides that the United Kingdom will invite the North Atlantic Council to review the financial conditions on which United Kingdom formations are maintained on the mainland of Europe if their maintenance throws at any time too great a strain on the external finances of the United Kingdom.
Following is the table:
FOREIGN EXCHANGE COST OF MAINTAINING BRITISH FORCES STATIONED IN THE TERRITORY OF THE FEDERAL GERMAN REPUBLIC Calendar Years Col. 1 Total Deutschemark cost born by H.M.G. Col. 2 German Financial to H.M.G. £ million £ million 1955 … 6 — see Note 1 1956 … 12 — 1957 … 60 38 1958 … 57 12 1959 … 51 24 1960 … 57 12 Notes
- 1. From May, 1955 until 31st March, 1957, a large part of the local costs incurred by British Forces in Germany were met directly by the Federal German authorities as support costs under the terms of the Bonn Conventions (Cmd. 9368) and the further arrangements set out in Cmd. 9802. The entries relating to this period exclude amounts which were dealt with in this way and show only the further amounts which were met by H.M.G.
- 2. From April, 1957 until 31st March, 1961, the Federal Government paid certain funds direct to the United Kingdom for use in the Deutschemark (West) currency area under the terms of the agreements set out in Cmnd. 256 and Cmnd. 588.
- 3. The figures in column 1 exclude certain relatively small sums spent outside the United Kingdom in countries other than Germany on supplies for the use of British forces in Germany.
- 4. The figures in column 2 exclude amounts spent or deposited in the United Kingdom in these years by the Federal German authorities in respect of defence contracts.