§ 40. Mr. Sparksasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer the total interest payment which will be due on loans by local authorities from the Public Works Loan Board during 1951; the total sum advanced; and if he will give an estimate of the interest repayment on loans made during the current year on the assumption that the sums to be borrowed will be the same as in 1951.
§ Mr. H. BrookeIn the calendar year 1951, £390 million was advanced to local authorities by the Public Works Loan Board. The total amount of interest payable in respect of these loans is approximately £333 million. Assuming that the Board will advance in 1955 the same amount as in 1951, that there will be no further change in interest rates during the remainder of the current year, and allowing for the shorter average life of loans now being made, the total amount of interest payable on these advances would be approximately £349 million.
§ Mr. SparksDoes the right hon. Gentleman not agree that the increase in the interest rate on loans from the Public Works Loan Board has created a very heavy additional burden upon the local rates, and will he give an assurance that this very high rate of interest will be reviewed by the Government at an early date, with a view to its reduction?
§ Mr. BrookeThe necessity for the increase in the rate is, as the hon. Member knows, the change in the market rates. Local authorities will be wise if they pay attention to what the Chancellor said, and consider very carefully whether this is the right time to seek to go forward with non-essential capital projects.
§ Mr. JayIs it, then, the policy of the Government that the local authorities should reduce their housing programmes —[An HON. MEMBER: "And school building."]—because this rate has gone up?
§ Mr. BrookeThe Chancellor made a statement about the Government's housing policy on Tuesday.