§ [The Question was as follows:
§ To ask Her Majesty's Government if they intend to take any steps to stop the serious decline in the market value of Government securities which is having a disastrous effect upon the capital invested by small investors and others as savings, and is resulting in such securities becoming unstable and unsuitable for trustee investment.]
§ THE MINISTER OF EDUCATION (VISCOUNT HAILSHAM)My Lords, the noble Lord will probably agree that the market value of Government securities is not a matter which can be easily isolated from other and more general economic questions which do not readily lend themselves to discussion by way of Parliamentary Question and Answer. In reply to similar Questions in another place, my right honourable friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer has said that he observes the fluctuations of the market but is not prepared to forecast developments. I do not think that it would be proper for me to add to this this afternoon, except to say that I do not endorse the conclusion drawn by the noble Lord from the movement of gilt-edged prices in the recent past.
§ LORD WISEMy Lords, while thanking the noble and learned Viscount for his reply, I think that it is most unsatisfactory. I am very much surprised that Her Majesty's Government are not concerned about the depreciation of the capital value of gilt-edged securities, which is having a serious effect upon many trustees and others who have money to invest or securities to sell. I was hoping, therefore, to have a better reply. As a final question, may I ask whether Her Majesty's Government recommend to trustees that at this time 1333 they should invest in gilt-edged securities?
§ VISCOUNT HAILSHAMMy Lords, in reply to the speech of the noble Lord, I do not accept that the Government are not concerned about these matters, nor has anything I have said justified that remark. As regards the latter part of the noble Lord's remarks, it is not, I think, my function to give by way of a supplementary answer advice on investments to trustees or to anybody else.
§ VISCOUNT ALEXANDER OF HILLSBOROUGHMy Lords, as an ordinary person and no expert, I should have thought that if one sees Consols at 48, that would not be too bad an investment for trustees. I would ask the noble and learned viscount this question: Is not this very persistent low level of certain Government securities due to the general inflationary trend, the depreciation in the value of money? When this sort of question is raised, have not the Government taken into consideration the fact that the controls they have so far exercised seem to be failing to deal with inflation and that there is urgent need for some specific attention to be given to the matter?
§ VISCOUNT HAILSHAMMy Lords, as regards the first part of the noble Viscount's remarks, I agree. Indeed, I think it was part of my original answer that the Question on the Order Paper bears an obvious relation to general economic considerations such as that which has been moving the noble Viscount. I am not sure that I can recollect the second part of the question.
§ VISCOUNT ALEXANDER OF HILLSBOROUGHI suggested that the persistent low level of Government securities seems to indicate that the controls which they have exercised to try to deal with the matter seem incapable of dealing with it and it is something to which the Government should give their urgent attention.
§ VISCOUNT HAILSHAMMy Lords, I should not be prepared to accept the first part of the noble Viscount's sentence. I think that the matter is receiving urgent attention. I was venturing to suggest that this was just the sort of subject which could better be dealt with by 1334 debate than by an exchange of Questions and Answers.
§ LORD TEVIOTMy Lords, would the noble Viscount not agree that this is a type of question which should be dealt with by an investment stockbroker?
§ VISCOUNT HAILSHAMMy Lords, I should certainly be content to consult one in such circumstances.