§ 39. Mr. Croninasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what action he will take to relieve the financial embarrassment of sterling area countries which have invested a substantial portion of their London balances in long-dated British Government securities.
Mr. AmoryI cannot undertake to make special arrangements with any particular holders of Government securities to insulate them from the effect of monetary policy.
§ Mr. CroninWhile no one expects the right hon. Gentleman to make special arrangements, may I ask if he is aware that his monetary policy is causing severe hardship in the sterling area countries, which are already suffering from the slump in world commodity prices? Is not his policy of attracting investment to short-term investments thereby counter-acting the very policy of the Government?
Mr. AmoryI doubt very much whether the countries concerned are suffering hardship, for this particular reason, at any rate. As I think the hon. Member knows, all independent Commonwealth countries, and most Colonial Governments, are responsible for their own investment policies.
§ Sir J. DuncanMay I ask my right hon. Friend whether the embarrassment these countries are suffering is more from being encouraged to invest in undated stocks such as "Daltons"?
| NATIONAL SAVINGS: 1ST APRIL-1ST MARCH (48 WEEKS) | |||||
| 1957–58 | 1956–57 | ||||
| — | Receipts | Repayments | Receipts | Repayments | |
| Certificates | … | 199.9 | 216.5 | 305.1 | 236.7 |
| Defence Bonds | … | 57.7 | 75.6 | 123.5 | 120.2 |
| P.O. Savings Bank | … | 417.0 | 476.9 | 416.3 | 460.1 |
| Trustee Savings Banks | … | 614.7 | 609.3 | 627.1 | 611.9 |
| Premium Savings Bonds | … | 78.0 | 4.4 | 60.6 | 0.1 |
| 1,367.3 | 1,382.7 | 1,532.6 | 1,429.0 | ||
| Estimated Accrued Interest | … | 125.3 | 119.9 | ||
| Interest Paid out on Certificates | … | 84.2 | 85.5 | ||
| Defence Bond redemptions on maturity | … | 17.3 | 38.0 | ||
| Total remaining invested at end of period | … | 6,266 | 6,224 |
§ Mr. CroninDoes the right hon. Gentleman appreciate that anyone who pays a low interest on a stock issue like "Daltons" expects capital value to fall but does not expect a high interest to deteriorate so much as this?
Mr. AmoryI do not remember the right hon. Member for Bishop Auckland (Mr. Dalton) advising the House that those stocks were likely to fall at any time.