§ 18. Mr. William Hamiltonasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a further statement on the Page Report on National Savings.
§ Mr. BarberI have nothing further to add to my reply to the hon. Member for Gateshead, West (Mr. Horam) on 25th October.—[Vol. 861, c. 1459.]
§ Mr. HamiltonIs the Chancellor aware that that is a disgracefully complacent reply? Why has this report been swept under the carpet when the small, unsophisticated investor is being swindled week by week and the Government are doing nothing about it? Is he also aware that the Government are doing nothing about the property speculator who can make millions in a day simply by purchasing property with one hand and selling it with the other?
§ Mr. BarberThe hon. Gentleman will realise that major questions are involved in the report's recommendations. We are at present consulting with the Trustee Savings Banks Association, the national savings movement and others concerned. The hon. Gentleman will recognise that the terms of all national savings facilities have been improved by the Government, and in the last three years, in money terms and real terms, national savings 579 have increased by about six times the amount raised in the six years of the Labour Government.