§ Mr. HOGGEasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he can state, with reference to his estimate of the Debt for a normal year, the amount of the various descriptions of the Debt and the rates of interest payable upon them, respectively?
Mr. CHAMBERLAINIn view of the large amounts of short-term Debt maturing for payment from time to time, it is, I fear, impossible to give a detailed forecast of the exact nature of the Debt which will be outstanding in a future "normal" year. The Debt charge for such a year can only be estimated on the best general forecast of the total Debt likely to be outstanding and not on a detailed calculation under various heads, the exact constituents of which are necessarily at present unknown.