asked the Taoiseach whether the Central Statistics Office is in a position to furnish particulars as to the amount of British Government securities held on the 31st March last (or nearest convenient date) in London by the Central Banks (or equivalent institutions) of countries that participate in the O.E.E.C. and countries that are members of the British Commonwealth.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Holding of British Government Securities.
asked the Taoiseach whether the Central Statistics Office is in a position to furnish particulars as to the amount of British Government securities held on the 31st March last (or nearest convenient date) by the Governments of countries that participate in the O.E.E.C. and of British Commonwealth countries.
asked the Taoiseach whether the Central Statistics Office is in a position to supply particulars of the total amount of net sterling assets held in Britain by the countries that are members of the O.E.E.C. and the countries that compose the British Commonwealth on the 31st March, 1951 (or other nearest convenient date) indicating where possible the amount of such sterling assets which are "blocked" by agreement or otherwise; and, if not, whether the Central Statistics Office will obtain such information.
With the permission of the Ceann Comhairle I will answer Questions Nos. 2, 3 and 4 together.
The Deputy will appreciate that the Central Statistics Office is not a general information bureau. I am prepared, however, to give such relevant information as is immediately available to the Central Statistics Office, but it is not considered appropriate that that office should institute the inquiries suggested by the Deputy in Question No. 4.
The only relevant information available is that published by the British Government from time to time relating to United Kingdom sterling liabilities, which does not distinguish separately the holdings of British Government securities. The latest figures available for these liabilities are those given for the 30th June, 1951, in the official British report entitled, "United Kingdom Balance of Payments, 1948 to 1951" (Cmd. 8379), and I propose, with the permission of the Ceann Comhairle, to circulate with the Official Report, a tabular statement showing the information given in the publication referred to. As regards the amount of such sterling assets which are "blocked," the latest information to hand is that in the official British "Economic Survey for 1950" (Cmd. 7915), in which it was stated that
"At the end of 1948 sterling balances of all overseas holders totalled £3,359,000,000; by the end of 1949 they had fallen to £3,344,000,000, so that the net decline was only £15,000,000. Between the end of 1948 and the end of 1949 the amounts blocked or restricted declined from just under £1,600,000,000 to rather over £1,350,000,000 and the unrestricted accounts rose from rather over £1,750,000,000 to nearly £2,000,000,000."
The following is the statement:—
U. K. STERLING LIABILITIES*
30th June, 1951
(in £ million)
|
To non-sterling area countries: |
|||
|
Dollar Area |
73 |
||
|
Other Western Hemisphere |
55 |
||
|
O.E.E.C. Countries |
422 |
||
|
Other non-sterling countries |
520 |
||
|
TOTAL—non-sterling area countries |
1,070 |
||
|
To sterling area countries: |
|||
|
Dependent overseas territories |
908 |
||
|
Other sterling area countries |
2,190 |
||
|
TOTAL—sterling area countries |
3,098 |
||
|
TOTAL—Sterling Liabilities to All Countries |
4,168 |
*Sterling liabilities comprise the net liabilities in sterling of banks (including accepting houses and discount houses) in the United Kingdom to their overseas offices and to other account holders abroad, including any British Government securities held for account of banks and funds held as cover for overseas currencies; funds held by the Currency Boards and the Crown Agents for the Colonies; overseas loans to H.M. Government expressed in sterling or sterling area currencies, including the capital value of payments due to India and Pakistan under the Pensions Annuities Schemes of 1948 (£157 million at 30th June, 1951); and, so far as known, U.K. sterling securities held by official bodies but not those held by private individuals or firms. Holdings of Dominion and Colonial sterling securities are excluded.
I appreciate fully the difficulties in obtaining statistics of that kind but might I ask the Taoiseach if he would ask the Central Statistics Office if such particulars are available, possibly not in full, but in part, to the O.E.E.C.? They have a statistics department.
I do not think they are available there. The information would have to be asked for directly.
O.E.E.C. have a good statistics department——
They have.
——which might be useful in that connection.