§ Mr. Austin Mitchellasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give the real interest rate, being the minimum lending rate less inflation, prevailing in October 1975, October 1978, October 1980, October 1981, October 1982, October 1983, and October 1984.
§ Mr. Ian StewartInformation on the minimum lending rate is to be found on page 192 of the annual supplement toEconomic Trends and information on prices on pages 114–117 of the same publication, although the hon. Member should be aware that from 20 August 1981 the Bank of England suspended the announcement of minimum lending rate. An article in the December 1983 Bank of England Quarterly Bulletin discusses some of the problems involved in measuring real rates of interest and shows recent trends.