§ Mr. Robert Sheldonasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what are the criteria for omitting Government stocks from the National Savings Stock Register.
§ Sir Geoffrey Howe[pursuant to his reply, 12 February 1980]: The existing capacity of the Department for National Savings to deal efficiently with purchase and sale applications limits to about 50 696W the number of stocks on the National Savings Stock Register. The Department's aim is that the stocks on the register should be a representative selection.
The number of short-dated stocks taken on is limited because of the additional administrative costs of dealing with them; and certain stocks with a limited market are excluded. New stocks are not added to the register until they have been closed to subscription.
The capacity of the register to take on additional stocks has for some months been limited further by the work of amalgamating the Trustee Savings Bank and DNS sections of the register. This work is almost complete and the selection of stocks available is currently being reviewed.