HC Deb 25 June 1963 vol 679 cc1111-2
10. Mr. Proudfoot

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will announce the date when the Report of the Committee on Decimal Coinage will be available.

Mr. Barber

I am sorry to have to tell my hon. Friend that the Committee is taking longer over its task than it expected, and I am afraid that, with the best will in the world, the Report is unlikely to be available before the middle of September.

Mr. Proudfoot

Will not my hon. Friend agree that this is a great length of time in which to prepare the Report when the Committee has such good guidelines to study as the reports given to the Australian Government, the New Zealand Government and the South African Government, and even a report to our own chambers of commerce?

Mr. Barber

I recognise that the Committee has had the benefit of most valuable and informed advice, including that given by my hon. Friend the Member for Cleveland (Mr. Proudfoot), but so far as we can tell the Report will not be available before the end of July, and I am told that the time required after that for publication is likely to be about six weeks. That is why I mentioned the middle of September.

Mr. Lubbock

Will the hon. Gentleman say what factors have led up to this inordinate delay? Is it not a great pity that this should have occurred, bearing in mind the great benefits which would be likely to be derived from a change-over to the decimal system?

Mr. Barber

This is not only an important matter but a very complicated one. It is the desire of the Committee to produce the best possible advice for the Government and the country.