§ Mr. Nobleasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer by what calculations he has reached the figure, which he has publicly suggested, of £2 to £3 billion cuts in the public sector borrowing requirement as being perhaps necesary and what were his strategic aims in devising this objective.
§ Mr. DellMy right hon. Friend is not clear to which public statement my hon. Friend is referring. In his April Budget he took measures to reduce the public
832Wments which are essentially cash transactions.
sector borrowing requirement in 1976–77 by approximately £3 billion below what it would otherwise have been, against the background of the economic prospect set out in the Financial Statement and Budget Report. Over the next few critical years the borrowing requirement must be set at a level which permits the essential move of resources into exports and investment and ensures the avoidance of an excessive rate of monetary expansion.