HC Deb 25 June 1997 vol 296 cc530-1W
Ms Kelly

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer in what respects the Bank of England would need to be reformed to meet all the requirements for central bank independence in the Maastricht treaty; and when legislation would need to be passed if the United Kingdom wished to join a European single currency at the beginning of 1999. [4243]

Mrs. Liddell

The proposed changes to the Bank of England will not make it compatible with the requirements in the EC Treaty which would apply if the United Kingdom were to adopt the single currency. In particular, the Governor would need to be fully independent when carrying out his tasks in the Governing Council of the European Central Bank, and the Bank of England would need to be able to play a full role in the European System of Central Banks and the formulation and implementation of the single monetary policy.

The Treaty provides for the ECB to take responsibility for the monetary policy of the single currency on 1 January 1999. The legislative framework enabling the Bank of England to play its part would need to be in place by 1 January 1999 at the latest if the United Kingdom were to adopt the single currency. Progress towards making the Bank of England compatible with the Treaty will be assessed by the Commission and the European Monetary Institute as part of their reports made in accordance with the procedure under Article 109j(1) of the Treaty probably in spring 1998.

Sir Richard Body

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) in whose name the deeds for the gold reserves for the Euro will be held;. [4463]

(2) what action would be taken against a participant in the single currency which was found to have gold reserves less than its planned contribution to the central reserves;. [4461]

(3) where the gold reserves for the Euro will be held;. [4464]

(4) what estimate he has made of the quantity of gold and foreign currency reserves which this country would contribute to the Euro' s central reserves in the event of participation in the single currency. [4462]

Mrs. Liddell

The foreign reserve assets to be held and managed by the European Central Bank (ECB) will be provided by the national central banks of countries which adopt the single currency in accordance with Article 30 of the Statute of the European System of Central Banks (ESCB) annexed to the EC Treaty. The amount to be provided by each national central bank will depend on the size of its country's population and national income. It is not possible at this stage to say precisely how much the Bank of England would need to provide if the United Kingdom were to join. The amount required in total by the ECB and its precise composition will be decided by its Governing Council, within a ceiling provided by the Treaty.

Foreign reserve assets held and managed by the ECB will be "pooled", in the sense that the central banks which provide them will have in turn a proportionate claim on the assets of the ECB. The Governing Council will decide the degree of decentralisation of the activities of the ESCB. There are likely to be good reasons for some or all foreign reserve assets to remain in individual national central banks, so that they can be used more effectively in local financial markets for example.

The Treaty provides no mechanism or sanction specifically for use against a national central bank which fails to provide the required amount of foreign reserve assets.