§ MR. MACVEAGHI beg to ask the Secretary to the Treasury whether he can state what interest is paid by the Treasury on money raised for the Local Loan Funds; whether he can state the interest charged on loans issued for 50 years periods for the purposes of labourers' cottages in Ireland; and whether he can state to what purpose the difference in the two rates of interest is applied.
§ THE FINANCIAL SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY (Mr. VICTOR CAVENDISH,) Derbyshire, W.Money is raised for the Local Loans Fund by the issue of Local Loans Stock, which bears interest at the rate of 3 per cent. per annum. Recent issues have been made below par, so that the actual rate of interest paid is higher than 3 per cent. The rate of interest charged to local authorities for loans varies according to the period of 1370 the loan, being 3½ per cent. when the period does not exceed twenty years and 4¼ when it does not exceed fifty years. The difference between the interest paid and the interest charged on loans is applied to defraying the expenses of administration of the loans; any surplus which remains on the Income account of the Fund is carried to and accumulated in a separate account, as directed by Section 4 of the Public Works Loans Act, 1897. In the Public Works Loan Bill of this year it is proposed to apply the accumulations, so far as necessary, in making good the deficiency in the Capital Account caused by issues of stock at a discount.
In reply to a further Question by Mr. MACVEAGH, Mr. VICTOR CAVENDISH said the rate of interest charged to local authorities was exactly the same as in England.