Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans he has to draw down the Special Drawing Rights issued recently to the UK by the International Monetary Fund.

Under the UK’s Presidency, G7 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors supported a general allocation of Special Drawing Rights (SDR) equivalent to $650bn that was approved by the IMF Board of Governors in August. The UK was a strong proponent of this allocation. G7 leaders also agreed in June to a global ambition of $100bn of SDR to support vulnerable countries most in need.

At the IMF’s Annual Meetings in October, the Chancellor committed to channelling up to SDR 4bn of the UK’s new allocation, starting with an additional loan of SDR 1bn to the IMF’s Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust which provides zero interest loans to low-income countries.

The UK is also supportive of the IMF’s proposed Resilience and Sustainability Trust (RST) which would redirect SDR towards supporting vulnerable countries in addressing climate change and other long-term structural challenges.