§ Sir C. Osborneasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his latest estimate of the total foreign loans in the past 12 months arranged by private and public companies, local government authorities and nationalised industries; and how far these borrowings affect his estimate of a £300 million balance of payments surplus for the current year.
§ Mr. Harold LeverLoans to the public sector in the form of bond issues and direct borrowing from banks overseas totalled nearly £50 million in the period. Estimates of borrowing by private companies in the latter category are not published, but bond issues overseas in the period are estimated to have amounted to about £40 million. These figures exclude the borrowing of Eurodollar deposits made by non-residents with banks in the United Kingdom. Estimates of loans raised abroad were taken into account in framing the objective of a surplus of £300 million on current and long-term capital account in 1969–70.