§ Mr. Carterasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will introduce legislation to require banks and other bodies to conduct transactions using new halfpennies.
§ Mr. HigginsThe banks ignore the ½p on cheques but issue and accept the ½p coins in pairs. This follows the former treatment of the old halfpenny and has no bearing on the use of the ½p in ordinary cash shopping. The White Paper "Decimal Currency in the United Kingdom" (Cmnd. 3164), of 12th December, 1966, stated that many organisations, including the banks, would ignore the ½p for accounting purposes; and no provision such as that suggested by the hon. Member was thought necessary in the Decimal Currency Acts, 1967 and 1969.