§ Mr. Keyasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on market borrowing by the Commonwealth Development Corporation.
§ Mr. RaisonMy predecessor announced on 14 December 1981, at column 17–18, in reply to a question by my hon. Friend the Member for Hertford and Stortford (Mr. Wells), that in each of the financial years 1982–83 to 1984–85 the Government would permit CDC to borrow in foreign currency on approved terms with a Government guarantee within a limit of £15 million a year. It has now been decided that CDC should be permitted to borrow up to £15 million in the financial year 1985–86 and up to £10 million in 1986–87—that is, up to the end of the period covered by the recent White Paper on the Government's public expenditure plans. No borrowing took place in 1982–83 as the corporation had adequate liquid resources at 31 March 1983.
Section 1 of the Commonwealth Development Corporation Act 1982 enables the Secretary of State to provide CDC with loans from the national loans fund. It has been agreed that CDC may borrow £15 million from the NLF in 1983–84 as an alternative to commercial borrowing in foreign currency.