§ Mr. Carterasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) if he will publish in the OFFICIAL REPORT the National Debt total when Government changed in June 316W 1970; and the figure for each quarter since;
(2) what part of the increase in the National Debt since June 1970 is taken up by foreign purchases.
§ Mr. NottThe available figures of the National Debt and of the part taken up by overseas holdings relate to the nominal amounts outstanding at 31st March each year. The figures from 1970 are as follows:
National Debt Overseas Holdings* £ million £ million 31st March 1970 … 33,079 7,487 31st March 1971 … 33,442 6,795 31st March 1972 … 35,843 6,646 * Includes overseas holdings of Government guaranteed securities, which cannot be separately identified. The figures for 1972 include an element of revaluation downwards; debt repayable in external currencies (previously converted at $2.40=£1) has been revalued at a rate of $2.6057=£1.