§ 51. Mr. Hall-Caineasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer in how many cases during 1936 the Public Works Loan Board accepted repayment of loans made by them at interest rates exceeding 5 per cent. without any premium or with a premium reduced below their normal scale; and in what circumstances the Board is still prepared to make a similar concession?
Mr. ChamberlainDuring the year 1936 the Public Works Loan Board accepted repayment in respect of loans made at interest rates exceeding 5 per cent. per annum without any premium or with a premium reduced below the normal scale in 95 cases. With regard to the second part of the question, the board are authorised to accept repayment without premium of the unexpended balance of loans made for schemes which have proved less costly than anticipated, and of loans made under the Agricultural Credits Act, 1923. The board are also authorised to waive the normal premium or to accept a reduced premium in certain cases in which the loan has been made for housing purposes and the borrowing authority has been compelled either by statute or by the terms of its mortgage to accept premature repayment of its advances to individual borrowers or to make immediate repayment to the Public Works Loan Board of some part of its advances.