§ Mr. Banksasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish the amount of Government borrowing in 1974, 1975 and to date in the current year with the amounts of interest that will fall to be paid as a consequence in each of the next 10 years.
§ Mr. Denzil DaviesThe amount borrowed by the Government and paid into the National Loans Fund in 1974–75 was £162,832,906,718—see Consolidated Fund and National Loans Fund Accounts 1974–75, HC 49 of 1975–76. pp. 13 to 15. The comparable figure for 1975–76 was £186,319,811,452 and for the six months from 1st April to 30th September 1976, £87,732,758,598. A large part of the borrowing is for short periods—Treasury Bills, for example, have a maximum life of 91 days—and it is not therefore possible to state the amounts of interest that will fall to be paid as a consequence in each of the next 10 years