§ 11. Mr. Tom Boardmanasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his estimate of the rate of interest that savers will need over the next 12 months in order to maintain the real value of their investment and yield a return of 3 per cent. after tax at the standard rate.
§ Mr. Harold LeverIt is not the practice of Governments to make predictions of changes in the value of investments.
§ Mr. BoardmanIf inflation continued at the same rate as it has since October, 1964, would not the appropriate rate of interest be 12½ per cent.? Will the hon. Gentleman ask his right hon. Friend to make this figure clear before inviting the public to subscribe for further National Savings?
§ Mr. LeverApart from the last part of his supplementary question, I am not clear what the hon. Gentleman wants me to answer. I cannot deal with complicated hypothetics unless they are explicitly put on the Order Paper. I know of no reason to change the Government's policy in relation to National Savings.