§ Mr. Liptonasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many faulty Treasury notes have recently been issued by the Bank of England; whether those faulty notes are still legal tender; and what action is being taken to prevent a repetition of similar mistakes.
§ Mr. Trotterasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many bank notes have recently been issued by the Bank of England incorrectly printed; what was the nature of the errors; why they occured; what steps are being taken to prevent a repetition; and what action should be taken by the holders of the notes.
§ Mr. Denzil DaviesIt is not possible to say precisely how many faulty notes have been issued but I understand that the Bank of England is satisfied that they are very few indeed in relation to the note issue as a whole. The number of new notes issued in the year to end February 1977 was 1,661 million, and evidence available to the Bank of England, including most recently inquiries into Press reports, indicates that faulty notes in relation to this total can be no more than a few hundred at most. The errors included a variety of minor defects. The Bank has strict checking procedures at its printing works but when six million notes a day are printed it is inevitable that a few faulty ones will reach the public. The notes remain legal tender at their face value so no possibility of loss to the public arises.