§ 2.40 p.m.
Baroness WARD of NORTH TYNE-SIDEMy Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.
§ The Question was as follows:
§ To ask Her Majesty's Government whether, when fresh coinage needs to be issued, the 50p piece can be issued with a gold covering in order to make it easier to distinguish between 50p and l0p.
§ The MINISTER of STATE, PRIVY COUNCIL OFFICE (Baroness Birk)My Lords, when it becomes necessary to issue new coinage the denominations and 1389 specifications will be reviewed. But it remains the Government's view that the cost and inconvenience of changing the colour of the 50p piece is likely to outweigh the benefits. The specification of the 50p piece was the subject of considerable research and consultation and the coin in its present form has become generally acceptable to the public.
Baroness WARD of NORTH TYNE-S1DEMy Lords, while thanking the noble Baroness for her reply, may I ask her whether she is aware that it would be possible to alter the 50p piece by means of an additional rim? May I also ask her whether the suggestion was put before the Treasury Ministers or whether it was just answered by the Minister's department?
§ Baroness BIRKMy Lords, with respect, I am a sort of Treasury Minister. In fact, the noble Baroness asked the Government a similar Question, to which I replied in April of last year. That is why I probably jumped up, and I must apologise before she does. In fact, over 30 representative bodies were consulted, including consumer organisations and organisations representing the blind. A tremendous amount of research was carried out by, among others, the Applied Psychology Unit of the Medical Research Council at Cambridge, so it certainly was not an arbitrary Treasury decision.
§ Baroness SHARPLESMy Lords, is the noble Baroness aware that if the 50p coin was changed and had a gold covering, electrolytically I could remove that gold and show myself a considerable profit?
§ Baroness BIRKMy Lords, that may be one of the reasons why we are not doing it. I do not suppose that the noble Baroness would do such a thing, but it has also been shown that a gold coloured coin very quickly becomes a very nasty, dirty grey.
§ Lord CLIFFORD of CHUDLEIGHMy Lords, would it not be a better idea to make a ruddy great hole in the middle of it to represent the devaluation of the pound in our pockets by one half since the present Government came into power?
§ Baroness BIRKMy Lords, you could still get it through the eye of a needle.
§ Lord BROCKWAYMy Lords, when the review takes place will the Minister and Her Majesty's Government take into consideration that some of us are colour blind in distinguishing between blue and green and would have great difficulty?
§ Baroness BIRKMy Lords, 1 cannot tell my noble friend when a review will take place, but the reason for the coin being hectagonal is that it can be recognised by touch, which seems to me to be much more important than the colour.
§ Lord SOMERSMy Lords, would it not be possible to alter the size of the coin, because so far as I know it is never used for putting into a slot?
§ Baroness BIRKMy Lords, it is put into some vending machines and if the size were changed—and I do not think any good argument has been put forward for it to be changed—the cost would be enormous because we could not have two kinds of the same denomination of currency at the same time and all the machines would have to be altered.
Baroness WARD of NORTH TYNESIDEMy Lords, while once again thanking the noble Baroness for her reply, and referring to her comment that I asked the Question last year, may I ask whether she is aware that, after 38 years in another place, I can go on asking and asking until I win my battle, and probably I shall do that?
§ Baroness BIRKMy Lords, I am sure the noble Baroness will do that and I shall have great delight in answering. I was only explaining why I rose before she did, because I was ready with the answer before she put the question.