Viscountess Astorasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the Government propose to take steps under the War Damage Bill to suspend the payment of interest on loans advanced by banks or from other sources in respect of property which, as a result of war damage, either 198W no longer exists or is unusable, until such time as the property is again habitable, or a value payment has been made?
§ Sir K. WoodIn this matter we need to try to hold the balance evenly between debtors and creditors and I should not feel justified in providing by statute for the. automatic suspension of interest in all cases. If a mortgagor is unable, owing to circumstances arising out of the war, to meet these payments, he is given a measure of protection by the Courts (Emergency Powers) Acts. For the rest I would prefer to rely on the making of satisfactory arrangements by the parties themselves. I have every reason to believe that the various bodies concerned are acting with all due consideration in these cases.