§ Mr. Craven-Ellisasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) if it is the intention of His Majesty's Government to return after the reconstruction period to the system under which trade trends are influenced by changes in the Bank Rate;
(2) if it is the intention of His Majesty's Government to revert to the system under which higher short-term interest rates are applied indiscriminately against all branches of trade, whether booming or depressed, in order to check an unwanted boom affecting certain industries.
§ Sir J. AndersonThe White Paper merely states that the possibility of influencing capital expenditure by the variation of interest rates will be kept in view, and the Government is not committed to the view that such a policy should in fact be followed or that it should be carried out in any particular manner. It would in any case clearly be premature to attempt now to indicate long-term policies on such subjects as that raised in the second Question.