To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the publication arrangements will be for the new quarterly report on the official reserves, and if he will make a statement. [16117]

A report on the reserves in July—September 1997 will be published by the Treasury on Tuesday 2 December. Subsequent quarterly reports will be published two months after the end of the quarter concerned. The report will include data on any holdings by the Bank of England. This follows the Chancellor's statement on 6 May that the Bank will have its own separate pool of foreign exchange reserves which it may use at its discretion to intervene in support of its monetary policy objective.