§ 11. Miss Quennellasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will amend the £50 foreign currency allowance to enable £100 to be drawn every two years, instead of the present rigid annual ration.
§ Mr. TaverneNo, Sir. My right hon. Friend hopes to be able to abolish the restrictions as soon as circumstances permit.
§ Miss QuennellYes, but does not the Financial Secretary realise that although his right hon. Friend said on 21st October that he would keep the scheme under continuous review he now seems to have closed his mind entirely to amending thescheme—to enable British travellers perhaps to take advantage of the Oberammergau season, from which next summer the parity between the German and our British currencies practically excludes British travellers?
§ Mr. TaverneI make two answers to the hon. Lady. First of all, to achieve a balance of payments, saving can be more readily done on the basis of an annual allowance rather than on a larger allowance spread over a longer period; and secondly, if it should prove possible to end the restriction earlier, then, of course, those who postponed their holidays would accordingly have suffered.
§ 14. Mr. Boyd-Carpenterasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will now increase the £50 travel allowance.
§ Mr. TaverneNo, Sir.
§ Mr. Boyd-CarpenterHow does the hon. and learned Gentleman reconcile the exuberant optimism shown by the Chancellor of the Exchequer yesterday with the maintenance over a further year of a restriction which can only be justified either to our friends abroad or our people at home by the existence of a crisis?
§ Mr. TaverneMy hon. Friend has just said that he does not like making predictions, and he has said that it would be unwise at a time when we have this welcome surplus to abandon straight away measures which have made some contribution to this welcome development.
§ Mr. HenigIs my hon. and learned Friend not aware that the £50 plus £15 English currency plus the cost of travelling is considerably in excess of the requirements of the average person taking a holiday abroad from this country, and will he therefore resist this class-interest pressure from the other side?
§ Mr. TaverneI am aware of what my hon. Friend says, but I would not go quite as far as he does because I certainly recognise, and my right hon. Friend recognises, that this is in itself an unattractive restriction which he does want to end as soon as possible.
§ Sir R. CarySurely some modest increase of £10 or £15 would be justified in view of the texture of the speech made by the Chancellor of the Exchequer yesterday?
§ Mr. TaverneThis is one of the matters which my right hon. Friend has under review.