§ Mr. E. Smithasked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury whether consideration has been given to the suggestion that the Government should establish a moratorium stabilising the interest rates on municipal loans; and, if so, is it intended to take any action?
§ Captain CrookshankI do not consider that the suggestion to which the hon. 2119W Member calls attention is a practical one. Municipal loans cannot be treated in isolation and the terms upon which they can be raised are of necessity related to market conditions. It is, of course, the Government's policy that interest rates should be as low as circumstances allow.