§ 23. Sir G. Nabarroasked the President of the Board of Trade how many unit trusts have been approved by his Department; and whether he will publish particulars in the Board of Trade Gazette, together with the aggregate sums, cumulatively, vested in Board of Trade-authorised unit trusts.
§ Mr. DellThere are 207 authorised unit trusts. The names of the trusts, the management companies and the trustees are published annually in Particulars of Dealers in Securities and of Unit Trusts. The total of the funds of the authorised unit trusts is published monthly in Financial Statistics.
§ Sir G. NabarroWould the hon. Gentleman realise that unit trusts in the aggregation were responsible in 1968 for nine times as much, in terms of sums invested and remaining invested, as National Savings? Would not it be appropriate, now that unit trusts are the major instrument for collecting small savings, to publish the outcome monthly, not annually, so that the progress may be watched by everybody interested in savings of all descriptions?
§ Mr. DellI think that perhaps the hon. Gentleman misheard. The Answer was that the names of authorised trusts are published annually but the financial aspect in which he is interested is published monthly in Financial Statistics.
§ Mr. Hugh JenkinsHaving regard to the importance of unit trusts, to which the hon. Member for Worcestershire, South (Sir G. Nabarro) has rightly drawn attention, will my hon. Friend pay further attention to the matter I have raised with him in correspondence concerning the contributions made by companies in which the unit trusts invest to the funds of the Conservative Party?
§ Mr. DellI am very much aware of my hon. Friend's interest in this subject. As I have pointed out to him, one of the consequences of the 1967 Companies Act is that we now know which companies make political contributions.