§ Mr. BlunkettTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the margin between Public Works Loan Board interest rates and the Government gilt rates.
§ Mr. MaplesThe Public Works Loan Board lending rates for quota loans are set so that they are close to but below the rates at which local authorities can borrow on the market. The rates are calculated by adding a margin of½ to 1 per cent. depending on maturity to the per yield curve Government gilts. The formula for calculating the per yield curve was described in the February 1990 issue of theBank of England Quarterly Bulletin.