HC Deb 26 July 1977 vol 936 cc179-80W
Mr. Churchill

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the total of Great Britain's overseas borrowings in the month of February in each of the years 1974, 1975, 1976 and 1977, respectively, and in the latest month for which figures are available; and what percentage of increase or decrease this represents compared with February 1974.

Mr. Robert Sheldon

I assume the hon. Member is referring to the external indebtedness of Her Majesty's Government. Most of the information is published quarterly in the balance of payments article in the Central Statistical Office publicationEconomic Trends; the latest data available are for the end of March 1977. The total identifiable short, medium and long-term external debts in sterling and foreign currency outstanding at the dates nearest those requested was as follows:

£ million
end-March 1974 5,132
end-March 1975 6,537
end-March 1976 7,535
end-March 1977 9,259
Percentage increase on end-March 1974 80

In addition, the debts of local authorities and public corporations under the exchange cover scheme were as follows:

£million
end-March 1974 … … … 1,545
end-March 1975 … … … 2,372
end-March 1976 … … … 3,654
end-March 1977 … … … 5,604

The latest available information on the total overseas indebtedness of the United Kingdom is given in "An inventory of UK external assets and liabilities: end-1976" in the Bank of England Quarterly Bulletin for June 1977.