§ 6. Mr. Biffenasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the estimated percentage of the gross domestic product represented by personal savings at the latest available date for the curret year; and how this compares with the estimated percentage for the corresponding period in the previous year.
§ Mr. Harold LeverOn a seasonally adjusted basis, it is estimated that personal saving represented 6.1 per cent. of gross domestic product at current factor cost in the first half of 1968. This compares with 6.2 per cent. in the same period of 1967
§ Mr. BiffenDoes not the decline, modest though it be, indicate that the public prudently felt that the money in their pocket would be diminished as a consequence of devaluation, and does the Financial Secretary imagine that as a result of the Government's policies announced over the past few days personal savings as a percentage of total personal income will rise?
§ Mr. LeverThe inferences drawn on the basis of six months' experience in 274 two years seem to me somewhat exaggerated.
§ Mr. William HamiltonCan my hon. Friend hold out any hope of finding a new incentive to saving which does not involve a simple transfer from one kind of saving to another?