§ Captain TERRELLasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give for each of the last six months the sales and repayments of National Savings Certificates; whether, since the last alteration in the terms of these certificates, the repayments are exceeding the sales; and whether he will consider the advisability of making these terms again attractive to the small investor?
§ Mr. SNOWDENThe figures are as follow:—
Issues (purchase price). Repayments (exclusive of interest). £ £ August, 1923 … 3,374,000 2,622,000 September, 1923 … 15,048,000 2,584,000 October, 1923 … 1,390,000 2,814,000 November, 1923 … 1,552,000 2,731,000 December, 1923 … 1,526,000 2,427,000 January, 1924 … 2,281,000 2,747,000 The yield on certificates held for 10 years is £4 2s. 9d. per cent. free of Income Tax, and is, in my opinion, fully as high as the conditions of to-day justify. The slight excess of repayments over new scales since 1st October is natural after the very exceptional subscriptions in September before the change in the rate of interest.