§ 19. Mr. LazarowiczTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what progress has been made on his proposed international debt arbitration procedure for the resolution of current and future sovereign debt crises. [68419]
§ John HealeyThe Government have been at the forefront in calling for a more effective mechanism for sovereign debt restructuring to be established, to ensure that the burden of adjustment during a crisis is not placed unfairly on the poor and most vulnerable. At the Spring Meetings of the IMFC and G7, the international community agreed to take forward work to develop a new approach to sovereign debt restructuring, to facilitate greater private sector involvement and to improve the framework for crisis resolution. The IMF is currently assessing the various options that may be available for achieving this and the G7 is implementing an Action Plan, which was agreed at the Spring Meeting, towards this objective. The Government welcomes these efforts and continues to take an active role in the developments.