HC Deb 21 July 1976 vol 915 cc498-9W
Mr. Lawson

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much money has been transferred from the Exchange Equalisation Account to the National Loans Fund since 1st April 1976.

Mr. Joel Barnett

£400 million.

Mr. Lawson

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer why Her Majesty's Treasury has amended the presentation of the accounts of the National Loans Fund so as to exclude items transferred from the Exchange Equalisation Account.

Mr. Joel Barnett

As announced on 10th May, the Treasury now issues a monthly Press notice giving details of the transactions on the Consolidated Fund and National Loans Fund and other funds and accounts which contribute to the central Government borrowing requirement and the separate publication in theLondon Gazette has been discontinued.—[Vol. 911, c. 50.]

The debt and other financing transactions borne directly on the National Loans Fund, including transfers to and from the Exchange Equalisation Account, have been omitted from the Press notice because they can be misleading if read in isolation. Full details of the financing of the central Government borrowing requirement are published quarterly by the Bank of England and the Central Statistical Office and include the contribution of transactions on the Exchange Equalisation Account. The change in the reserves is also published separately by the Treasury each month.