§ 13. Mr. Heddleasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will consider increasing the monthly repayment programme of credit cards to 15 per cent. of the outstanding balance.
§ Mr. Lawson:No, Sir.
§ Mr. HeddleDoes my hon. Friend agree that greater control should be exercised over the use of credit cards? Does he accept that the greater the extent to which plastic money is more readily available the greater will be the adverse contribution to the money supply, and that the more realistic and stringent the repayment terms are the more prudent and thrifty people will be?
§ Mr. LawsonIt is important to keep this matter in perspective. Bank lending is only one of the counterparts of the money supply sterling M3. Total bank lending is £64 billion while total consumer credit is about £13 billion. Of that £13 billion only about £1 billion is accounted for by credit cards.