§ Mr. Michael Morrisasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what action has been taken to date to trace the owners of post-war credits;
(2) what further action is planned to trace the owners of post-war credits.
§ Mr. Robert SheldonThe possibility of the Inland Revenue taking the initiative in tracing post-war credit holders has been considered, but the great majority could not be found, and for the small residue, the work could only be undertaken at prohibitive cost. The credits are recorded under the war-time names and addresses of the credit holders. In the vast majority of cases the taxpayer can no longer be traced at that address, and many women credit holders will have married and changed their names. It follows that the initiative for claiming repayment must rest with the credit holder.
§ Mr. Michael Morrisasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if proposals have been considered about contingency plans for distributing the £48 million post-war credits plus £19 million interest currently still held.
§ Mr. Robert SheldonNo. No fund is set aside for the repayment of post-war credits, which are repaid out of the Consolidated Fund.