§ Mr. BurnsTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the United Kingdom has subscribed the increase in its quota with the International Monetary Fund under its ninth general review of quotas.
§ Mr. NelsonYes. The ninth quota review recommended an increase in the United Kingdom quota from 6,194.0 million to 7,414.6 million special drawing rights, as part of a general increase in quotas to allow the IMF to continue its essential work in assisting countries with balance of payments problems, particularly in the developing world and, increasingly now, eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, to undertake economic adjustment to contribute both to their own growth and to the successful functioning of the international monetary system.
The quota increases under this review have been delayed for some time, but the United Kingdom was one of the first countries to vote in favour of them, in 1990. The subscription of an extra 1,220.6 million special drawing rights to the United Kingdom quota, in accordance with the International Monetary Fund (Increase in Subscription) Order 1990, has today been paid from the National Loans Fund. Subscribing a quota increase to the IMF is not public expenditure. The transactions result in a credit position with the IMF as part of our reserves.