131/97
30 October 1997
GET READY FOR THE SINGLE CURRENCY
Now is the time for business to start preparing for a single currency, said Chief Secretary, Alistair Darling this evening.
Speaking to Scottish businessmen in Edinburgh, Mr Darling emphasised the Government's commitment to working with business:
"We are the first British Government to declare for the principle of monetary union and now is the time for practical preparation."
In the week in which Chancellor Gordon Brown announced the appointment of Lord Simon as the Treasury Minister responsible for business preparation for monetary union, Mr Darling urged business to work with Government so as to give Britain a genuine choice about joining a single currency in the future.
"We will be working with business so that we are prepared for monetary union should we decide to join in the next Parliament. We have started that work now. And you need to play your part."
Concluding, Mr Darling said,
"We are determined that the country should now begin to prepare so that, should we meet the economic tests, we can be in a position to decide whether to join a successful single currency early in the next Parliament. That is why Government and business must prepare intensively during the next five years".
Notes to Editors
Mr Darling was speaking at the Scottish Financial Enterprise's eleventh Annual Autumn Dinner in Edinburgh. Copies of the speech are available from the Treasury press office (tel: 0207 270 5243).