§ 3. Mr. Nabarroasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer, having regard to the ending of the credit squeeze, whether he will now reconsider the restrictive terms of his letter to the chairman of the Capital Issues Committee on 1st July, 1958, and raise the exemption limit from £50,000 to £250,000.
§ Mr. ErrollNo, Sir.
§ Mr. NabarroHaving regard to the recent freeing of all hire-purchase restrictions, may I ask my hon. Friend whether new instructions are to be given to the Capital Issues Committee to deal less harshly with applications from hire-purchase finance concerns? Secondly, why is the Treasury discriminating so unfairly against the private investment concerns as compared with the nationalised industries which now have all inhibitions and restrictions on capital investment removed from them?
§ Mr. ErrollThe terms of the letter sent to the Committee on 1st July, 1958, did announce a relaxation in the stringency of the conditions for raising capital for hire purchase. The capital requirements of nationalised industries are, of course, already controlled by my right hon. Friend.