HC Deb 25 July 1972 vol 841 cc243-4W
6. Mr. Judd

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will now make a statement on the Government's policy towards the reorganisation of the international monetary system in the light of the discussions at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development III in Santiago.

Mr. Nott

Yes. The United Kingdom voted in favour of the resolution on the international monetary situation passed at UNCTAD III. It remains my right hon. Friend's view that the main discussion of reform should take place in the new Committee of Governors of the IMF, in whose work the developing countries will be able to play their part.

33. Mr. Norman Lamont

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he has had on the need to reform international monetary system along the lines of the proposals he put forward to the International Monetary Fund in September 1971.

Mr. Nott

My right hon. Friend has had a number of useful discussions with fellow Finance Ministers and in particular last week took the chair at a meeting with his colleagues of the enlarged European Economic Community at which certain broad principles were agreed. My right hon. Friend intends to discuss these matters with his Commonwealth colleagues when they meet in London in September. We look forward to the annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund in Washington in September and to the establishment of the Special Committee of Governors of the Fund—the Group of Twenty—to work out a definitive scheme of international monetary reform.

52. Mr. Loveridge

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer in view of the increases in dollar central bank holdings of external reserves over the last 18 months, if he will seek to ensure that United Kingdom reserves are reasonably balanced, and if he will initiate discussions with world monetary authorities on ways to improve the issue of special drawing rights to give more security against violent movements of world exchange rates in future.

Mr. Nott

The ideas for international monetary reform now under discussion are designed to improve the reserve asset structure and bring greater stability in international payments.