§ 15. Mr. Woodburnasked the Postmaster-General whether he is aware of the inconvenience and risk to holders of the system of holding Savings Certificates in their present form for many years; and whether he will consider some form of consolidation in such a form as a Post Office bank credit which would eliminate the need to conserve frail slips of paper.
Dr. HillIf the certificates are affixed to the books provided for that purpose there should be no undue risk of loss, and if loss does occur it can be remedied by the Savings Department, which maintains a complete file of duplicates. The right hon. Gentleman's suggestion would greatly increase the cost of administration.
§ Mr. WoodburnWhile I appreciate the assurance given to people that records are kept in case these certificates are lost—a great many people are worried about that—may I point out that these are very flimsy books, and not everybody's house is suitable for keeping there for a number of years paper books of this kind? If the Postmaster-General would look into the possibility of some consolidation of these books from time to time it would be a great assistance to people who have not these facilities at home.
Dr. HillI will look into the point which the right hon. Gentleman has made. If he would care to elaborate it in more detail, I should be grateful.