§ 18. Mr. William Clarkasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he is satisfied with the rate of increase in savings; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. BarberI doubt if I shall ever be entirely satisfied with the rate of increase in savings; but certainly there has been a considerable improvement. National Savings have been doing better than at any time since 1964–65, and total personal savings are rising substantially.
§ Mr. ClarkWould my right hon. Friend not agree that, although his answer is encouraging, there is still a need for even more savings? Would he give more thought to giving tax incentives to savings geared to equities and similar growth stocks, rather than gearing the whole of our fiscal incentives to Government stocks?
§ Mr. BarberI will consider any reasonable proposals for encouraging savings, which all successive Chancellors have recognised are of immense importance and advantage to our country.