§ Mr. Batsfordasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he is aware that plastic token decimal coins issued to schools are being widely used in automatic washing machines; and whether he will give a general direction to the Decimal Currency Board to cease issuing such tokens.
§ Mr. William RodgersIt is a criminal offence to use plastic tokens, or indeed anything other than the correct legal tender, in coin-operated machines selling goods or services. The problem is not new, but I recognise that it has grown since sets of decimal token coins began to be produced for education and training.
The remedy lies partly in making customers aware of the force of the law and partly in employing mechanism less vulnerable to misuse.
The Decimal Currency Board does not itself issue decimal token coins.