§ Mr. Nicholas Wintertonasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) whether he will study the precedents of municipal and State loans in the United States of America for investment by the public in nationally beneficial projects, with a view to legislation to provide for the introduction of bonds for funding specific capital construction projects; and if he will make a statement;
(2) whether he will introduce legislation to introduce bonds for national construction projects with varying maturity dates over periods of about 10 years with some degree of dividend tax exemption; and if he will make a statement;
(3) whether he will undertake full discussions with a wide range of financial institutions with a view to examining whether the introduction of bonds for specified national construction and infrastructure projects would be a positive inducement to people and organisations to invest in the long-term future of the United Kingdom;
(4) whether he will investigate the practicalities of issuing index-linked bonds for specific and carefully chosen capital construction projects as a method to attract private funds in order to reduce public expenditure; and if he will make a statement.
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§ Mr. BrittanI shall let my hon. Friend have a reply as soon as possible.