asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what a man would have to earn now to obtain the same purchasing power as a wage rate of £23·86 earned in March 1970.

1970	1971			1972	1973
Nil	Swiss Franc	…	629 million	Nil	Swiss Franc	…	556 million
	Deutschemark	…	177 million		Deutschemark	…	100 million
					United States Dollar	…	2,517 million
					Belgian Franc	…	475 million

It is not possible to estimate precisely the amounts payable in interest on these borrowings since a large part of the money borrowed is on floating rate terms. At present interest rates, the total cost of servicing these borowings in 1974 is estimated to be about US dollars 270 million.