§ Sir Anthony GrantTo ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what information he has as to what efforts are being made by the credit card companies and associated banks to assist those borrowers with problems of excessive personal indebtedness.
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§ Mr. MaudeThe clearing banks through the banking information service provide information on credit and debt, through educational visits, videos and literature. Some 20 financial organisations, of which seven are banks, are providing £750,000 over a period of three years for money advice.
§ Sir Anthony GrantTo ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what information he has as to the average merchant service charge paid by retailers accepting(a) Visa, (b) Access, (c) American Express and (d) Diners Club for each year since 1984.
§ Mr. MaudeMerchant service charges paid by retailers accepting credit cards are a matter for commercial negotiation between the retailer and card company, and information about these charges is not held by my Department.
§ Sir Anthony GrantTo ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what information he has as to what range of interest rates are available to personal borrowers in the following categories:(a) bank credit cards, (b) store credit cards, (c) mortgages, (d) bank loans and (e) other forms of credit.
§ Mr. MaudeDetailed information on ranges of interest rates available to personal borrowers is not centrally available. The Consumer Credit (Total Charge for Credit) Regulations 1980 (SI 1980/51) prescribe the items to be included in and the method of calculating the annual percentage rate of charge (APR) so that consumers can compare the various rates on offer.
§ Sir Anthony GrantTo ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what information he has as to what proportion of credit card applicants have been rejected by the credit card companies in each of the past 10 years.
§ Mr. MaudeThe information requested is not available. Whether to accept or reject a credit card application is a commercial decision for the card company concerned. However, a major credit card company recently announced that it rejects about one in three applications.
§ Sir Anthony GrantTo ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (1) what information he has as to what proportion of borrowers in each of the following categories pay interest at the full annual percentage rate; and what is the average percentage paid in each category(a) bank credit cards, (b) store credit cards, (c) bank loans and (d) other forms of credit;
(2) what information he has as to the annual increases in borrowing on which interest is paid for (a) bank credit cards, (b) unsecured personal loans, (c) secured personal loans and (d) loans from retailers for each year since 1984.
§ Mr. MaudeCredit business statistics published by the Department (there is no earlier comparable data) show that the amounts outstanding to lenders from borrowers were:
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£ million Bank credit cards Retailers Bank loans(on personal accounts) Finance houses etc. 1986 838 95 1,452 1987 889 357 1,711 2,619 11988 449 70 940 1,500 1 First half. However, the statistics do not distinguish the proportion of borrowers who pay interest on the credit available from those who only borrow for a free credit period.
§ Sir Anthony GrantTo ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what information he has as to what weighting is given, when calculating annual percentage rates, of the effect of the free credit period which holders of bank credit cards receive from the day of their purchase to their statement date.
§ Mr. MaudeItems to be included in the annual percentage rate of charge and the way it is calculated are set out in the Consumer Credit (Total Charge for Credit)
£000's Scheme 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 Total Energy audit scheme 20 13 0 0 0 33 Industrial energy thrift scheme 2 3 0 6 — 11 Renewable energy source scheme 24 11 0 2 0 37 Energy conservation demonstration scheme 338 194 134 16 0 682 Industrial heat recovery consultancy scheme 291 594 878 173 7 1,943 Total 675 815 1,012 197 7 2,706 The responsibility of the then Department of Industry for improving energy efficiency in United Kingdom industry was passed to the Department of Energy in 1982 on the recommendation of a Rayner review. The payments shown in the table (excepting those for the industrial heat recovery scheme) arose from contracts entered into prior to the review. The industrial heat recovery scheme closed to new applicants in 1986. The activities of the regional energy efficiency officers located in the Department's regional offices are paid for by the Department of Energy under an agency agreement. Payments made under other DTI industrial support schemes contain conservation-related components but these are not separately identifiable.
Funds devoted by the Department to savings on the costs of its own energy consumption are likely to be some £208,000 in 1988–89.