Skip to main content

Written question asked by Lord Laird (Non-affiliated) on Friday, 7 November 2014, in the House of Lords. It was due for an answer on Friday, 21 November 2014. It was answered by Lord Deighton (Conservative) on Thursday, 20 November 2014 on behalf of the Treasury.


World War I: Debts

Question

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much they owe the government of the United States as a result of the First World War; and what are the arrangements for repayment.

Answer

At the end of the First World War, the debt owed to the United States by the United Kingdom amounted to around £850 million. Repayments of the debt were made between 1923 and 1931. In 1931, President Hoover of the United States proposed a one year moratorium on all war debts, which allowed extensive international discussions on the general problems of debt repayment to be held. However, no satisfactory agreement was reached. In the absence of such an agreement, no payments have been made to, or received from, other nations since 1934. At the time, the United Kingdom was owed more by other nations than the outstanding principal it owed the United States.

For this reason, liabilities and assets arising from WW1 have not been listed on the UK government’s balance sheet since 1944-45.


Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
HL2727
Session
2014-15
Related items
World War I: Debts
Tuesday, 9 December 2014
Written questions
House of Lords
World War I: Debts
Tuesday, 9 December 2014
Written questions
House of Lords
Subjects
Debts Repayments World War I USA Foreign loans
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk