§ Mr Rowlandasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of any current balance of payments deficit in each year since 1945 has been attributable to overseas defence expenditure.
§ Mr. CallaghanIt is difficult to evaluate the net impact of this expenditure,38W part of which gives rise indirectly to receipts elsewhere in the current account; but the figures of overseas military expenditure in the invisibles account of the balance of payments compared with those of the surplus or deficit on current account for each year since 1945 are given in the following table. This information is available in the "United Kingdom Balance of Payments 1965", the corresponding earlier publications, and for the current balance from 1946 to 1951 in "National Income and Expenditure 1965".
£ million Military Expenditure in the Invisibles Account of the balance of payments (a) Balance on Current Account in the Balance of Payments (deficit-/surplus+) 1946 … -374 (b) -230 1947 … -209 (b) -381 1948 … -113 +26 1949 … -110 -1 1950 … -100 +306 1951 … -123 -365 1952 … -137 +170 1953 … -139 +151 1954 … -146 +121 1955 … -152 -157 1956 … -174 +209 1957 … -157 +216 1958 … -180 +330 1959 … -167 -132 1960 … -206 -273 1961 … -225 -14 1962 … -243 +93 1963 … -249 +105 1964 … -274 -412 (a) Excluding defence aid, contributions to international organisations and military receipts other than local overseas receipts.
(b) Including payments by non-Service Departments connected with war disposals and settlements.