Post Office Savings Bank (Interest)

HC Deb 13 May 1958 vol 588 c197

18. Mr. du Cann

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what changes have been made in the rate of interest paid on Post Office Savings Bank deposits since its establishment.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer (Mr. Derick Heathcoat Amory)

None, Sir; but since April, 1956, the first £15 of interest have been exempted from Income Tax.

Mr. du Cann

Would not it be in accordance with modern practice and result in increasing deposits if the rate were raised? It seems very low.

Mr. Amory

It has always been thought that it is better to keep the interest rates on Post Office savings at a constant level through periods of high and low interest rates. That has been the view of successive Governments on this particular form of saving.