§ 7. The detailed application of the Sinking Fund (£66,830,000) is shown in the table on page 4 of the Financial Statement. The surplus of Ordinary Revenue over Ordinary Expenditure, which is the true figure of the cash applied to debt reduction out of revenue, was, as already stated, £43,554,000, and, in addition, £9,057,000 cash was applied to the reduction of Debt outside the Budget from the proceeds of the German Government Mobilisation Loan.
§ The total nominal deadweight debt on the 31st March, 1931, was £7,413,278,000, a reduction in the year on the face value of the debt of £55,761,000.
§ The principal debt operations of the year were:
- (i) The redemption of £24,568,000 of 5¼per Cent. Treasury Bonds from the proceeds of issue of 4¼ Conversion Loan under the prospectus of February, 1930; and
- (ii) The redemption of £75,100,000 of the 4 per Cent. War Loan, tax compounded, and of £11,037,000 4¼ per Cent. Treasury Bonds from the proceeds of issue of 4 per Cent. Treasury Bonds by tender, at an average price of £100 11s. 6d.
§ The annual saving effected by these operations was approximately £900,000, including the gain to Income Tax revenue, estimated at £650,000, arising from the substitution of a taxable security for the tax compounded 4 per Cent. War Loan.
§ The market prices of representative Government stocks improved during the year as follows:
| 31st March,1930. | 31st March,1931. | |
| 3¼per Cent. Conversion Loan | 78½ | 79⅛ |
| 4 per Cent. Consols | 88⅝ | 90⅛ |
| 5 per Cent. War Loan | 103 | 104¼ |
| 4 per Cent. Funding Loan | 91¼ | 91¾ |
| 3 per Cent. Local Loans | 65¾ | 66⅛ |