§ Mr. Trotterasked the Secretary of State for Industry how many overdrafts have been granted by the Giro; how many have had overdrawn balances in excess of £1,000; under what circumstances overdrafts in general and in excess of £1,000 in particular are granted; and how many debts have proved to be bad.
§ Mr. Gregor MackenzieGiro does not at present provide overdraft facilities. I do not have any details of the number of overdrawn accounts or bad debts, but the Post Office advises me that where overdrawing has occurred due to misjudgment or oversight, it sometimes exercises discretion in individual cases for short periods.