§ Captain Kerbyasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) whether he will reinforce his anti-inflationary policy by permitting the sale of gold sovereigns to Her Majesty's subjects in the United Kingdom;
(2) why none of the 2,072,000 sovereigns minted during the calendar year 1957 were issued for circulation in the United Kingdom; how many it is his intention to mint during 1958; and how many sovereigns were released for circulation abroad in 1957 to meet the demand for these coins amongst foreigners.
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§ Mr. SimonIt would not be an economical use of the gold and dollar reserves to allow sovereigns to circulate in the United Kingdom. No decision has been reached as to the number to be minted during 1958. As regards the final part of the second Question, I would refer my hon. and gallant Friend to the reply which I gave him on 11th March.
§ Captain Kerbyasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what is the present stock of sovereigns in the nation's gold reserve;
(2) how many of the sovereigns minted during 1957 were put into the nation's gold reserves.
§ Mr. Heathcoat AmoryIt is not the practice to give information about the composition of the gold and dollar reserves.