HC Deb 24 November 1975 vol 901 cc61-2W
Mr. Lawson

asked the Prime Minister on what basis he calculated (Hansard, 30th October 1975, c. 1755): (a) that the public sector borrowing requirement rose to £6,325 million under the Conservative Government which left office following the General Election of February 1974 and (b) that the "turn-round" in the public sector borrowing requirement "under the Conservative Government" amounted to £10,325 million.

The Prime Minister

On the basis of the calendar year figures for 1970 and 1974, which are the best measure of the PSBR inheritance which this administration was left by the Conservative Government.

INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC PROBLEMS
1.TRADE AND MONETARY
A. Organisations with a Trade Emphasis
(a) GATT:
(i) Multilateral Trade Negotiations (MTN's) Concerned with:

  1. (i) reducing tariff and non-tariff barriers;
  2. (ii) improvement of Article XI of GATT, the "safeguard" clause, to define more precisely the circumstances under which action to control imports may be allowable
  3. (iii) agriculture;
  4. (iv) tropical products.
(ii) Consultative Group of 18 Set up at the initiative of Director-General to consider broad issues of trade policy.
(b) OECD Trade Committee Concerned with any trade measures which may infringe the OECD Trade Pledge. Confined to OECD countries i.e. industrialised nations.
(c) IMF Concerned with measures to counter protectionism for balance of payments reasons. Membership world-wide.
(d) UNCTAD Membership world-wide.
(i) Committee on Invisibles and Financing related to Trade. The work of its recent session will be considered at the 7th Special Session of Trade Development Board. March 1976.
(ii) Special Committee on Preferences Meets January 1976.
(iii) Commission on Trans-National Corporations. Meets February 1976.
(iv) Trade Development Board (TDB) Special Session. To be held March 1976. Expected to undertake substantive preparatory work for UNCTAD IV

The public sector borrowing requirement was £-18 million in 1970 and £6,325 million in 1974 giving a turn-round in the PSBR during this period of £6,343 million. It was perfectly clear that the figure of £10,325 million recorded in Hansard, 30th October 1975, c. 1755, was derived from a verbal slip which was immediately corrected—see also c. 1755—and therefore had no status.