Debts: Developing Countries
(asked on 30th December 2020) - View Source
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of how much UK Government funding given through the International Monetary Fund’s (a) Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust and (b) Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust has been used by donor countries to pay (i) interest or (ii) principal on debt to private creditors.
This question was answered on 14th January 2021
In 2020, the UK contributed £150m to the IMF’s Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust (CCRT) and lent an additional £2.2bn (doubling our existing loan) to the Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust (PRGT) to support the poorest countries in their response to the Covid-19 crisis. These funds are not ringfenced to specific purposes, allowing flexibility for each country’s individual circumstances. The IMF conducts assurances on all its financial assistance to ensure that the funds are spent responsibly. All beneficiary countries have published letters of intent committing to spending these funds responsibly, including increasing health and social spending, and committing to safeguards on the use of the funds. The Fund will follow up on these commitments as part of its scrutiny and surveillance of government expenditure.
In 2020, the UK contributed £150m to the IMF’s Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust (CCRT) and lent an additional £2.2bn (doubling our existing loan) to the Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust (PRGT) to support the poorest countries in their response to the Covid-19 crisis. These funds are not ringfenced to specific purposes, allowing flexibility for each country’s individual circumstances. The IMF conducts assurances on all its financial assistance to ensure that the funds are spent responsibly. All beneficiary countries have published letters of intent committing to spending these funds responsibly, including increasing health and social spending, and committing to safeguards on the use of the funds. The Fund will follow up on these commitments as part of its scrutiny and surveillance of government expenditure.