Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in which areas he is planning to use the UK’s Special Drawing Rights.

The IMF Special Drawing Right (SDR) is an international reserve asset designed to supplement the official reserves of IMF member countries. SDRs are allocated to members, including the UK, in proportion to their IMF quota shares. HMG therefore holds SDRs as part of the UK’s international reserves.

The UK strongly supports the proposed new $650bn SDR allocation and has urged its implementation by the end of August. The UK also supports the G7’s ambition to significantly magnify the impact of the allocation to reach a total global ambition of $100bn to the countries most in need.

The UK together with other G7 members has called on the IMF to work quickly to explore a menu of options for the voluntary channelling of SDRs to further support health needs and to help enable greener, more robust recoveries in the poorest and most vulnerable countries. G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors have also committed to explore options to channel SDRs to support resilient, inclusive and sustainable recoveries. As part of this, members have committed to work to scale up the IMF’s concessional lending facility, the Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust (PRGT).

The Government continues to support initiatives to help countries in need address their debt vulnerabilities and ensure future debt sustainability, including the G20-Paris Club Debt Service Suspension Initiative and Common Framework, alongside efforts to enhance official and private sector debt transparency.