DECIMAL COINAGE (Hansard, 31 May 1960)

§ LORD FRASER OF LONSDALE
My Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.

§ THE EARL OF DUNDEE
My Lords, the Report recently published by the British Association for the Advancement of Science and the Association of British Chambers of Commerce on the introduction of a decimal coinage and of a metric system of weights and measures is an interesting study which seems amply to justify the initiative taken by the two bodies which sponsored it. While it is not in form a Report to Her Majesty's Government, we shall study its findings with care. There is clearly force in the Report's recommendation that an early decision in principle for or against the adoption of a decimal coinage is desirable, if only because delay will add to the expense if a change is finally made. At the same time, it is clearly necessary to discover more precisely what the 107 country at large thinks on the question, since the convenience of the community is the main consideration involved. We shall accordingly welcome the widest discussion of this question.
The Report is helpful in bringing out clearly the point that a decision to introduce a decimal currency cannot usefully be divorced from a decision on the particular decimal system to be adopted. A comparison of various possible systems suggests that the pound does not lend itself particularly readily to decimalisation, since its hundredth part would be too large to serve conveniently as the smallest unit of currency, while its division into a thousand parts would involve the inconvenience and expense of working to three points of decimals.
On the other hand, there are evident objections, in which Her Majesty's Government see great force, to giving up the pound as the main unit of currency, bearing in mind the rôle which it has for long played in international trade, and the respect in which it is held throughout the world. If this consideration were thought decisive, the practical choice would then be between the retention of our present currency and the adoption of a decimal currency based on the pound—i.e. the £/mil. system, or some variant of it.

§ LORD FRASER OF LONSDALE
My Lords, would not a pound break down rationally into a florin, and a florin into a 2d. piece—that is, a new 2d. piece? May I ask the noble Earl whether he is aware that I have a Notice on the Order Paper to raise a debate on this subject in this House, if time can be found, and would he say whether Her Majesty's Government will be ready to give a full answer to this matter in, say, July, or whether they would rather have time to study it over the summer holiday?

§ THE EARL OF DUNDEE
My Lords, I agree that the pound would readily break down into a florin, being one-tenth, and that a tenth of that would be about 2½d. What the Report points out is that the 2½d. unit is too large for the smallest unit of the coinage, and if you are to have one-tenth of that, or any fraction of that, it would involve slightly more difficult sums for everybody, with three places of decimals. But, of course, that is not a terribly difficult sum to do, 108 and if your Lordships think it is better to retain the full pound and to divide it into 1,000 parts, I hope your Lordships will say so. Whether the noble Lord's Motion can be taken in July must, of course, depend on arrangements made through the usual channels; but the Government, whether they are in a position to give a final decision or not, will greatly welcome any opinions expressed by your Lordships and others.

§ LORD FRASER OF LONSDALE
My Lords, is my noble friend aware that the Americans are able to count half a dollar, and even a quarter of one?

§ THE EARL OF DUNDEE
I know, but the point is that the cent is the lowest coin, so you have only two places of decimals, instead of three, which is possible because the dollar is worth only about 7s.

§ LORD STONHAM
My Lords, is the noble Earl aware that Her Majesty's Government have already gone a long way towards breaking down the pound, since it is now worth only 15s. 3d. as compared with its value in 1951?

§ THE EARL OF DUNDEE
That would mean that the decimals of the depreciated pound would be fractionalised to an even greater degree.

§ LORD STONHAM
But is the noble Earl aware that it is not the decimals that matter, but what you can buy with the pound? That is our complaint against Her Majesty's Government.