§ 65. Sir WILLIAM PEARCEasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the 1113 sum of £40,000,000 proposed to be issued for the purpose of loans by the Public Works Loan Commissioners will be a 3 per cent, stock; and, if so, will it be issued at a discount of at least 50 per cent.?
Mr. CHAMBERLAINThe figure of £40,000,000 is the maximum sum which can be lent in cash by the Public Works Loan Commissioners during the period covered by the Public Works Loan Bill. The cash actually required in respect of this maximum sum is advanced to the Commissioners from the local loans fund, which is fed in the first place from the capital sums repaid in respect of past loans, and in the second place, if necessary, by the issue of 3 per cent, local loans stock, either to Government funds, such as the Post Office Savings Bank Fund, or to the public. The extent to which it may be necessary to make further issues to the public cannot at present be foreseen, and the terms of such an issue clearly depend on market conditions at the time.