§ Sir W. Davisonasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer the reasons for the increase of approximately £300,000,000 in the note issue for the current year as compared with 1938?
§ Sir K. WoodThe answer to my hon. Friend's Question must be largely a matter of estimation rather than of exact information. Some of the increase is due to the hoarding of savings in the form of notes and to increased personal holdings resulting from war conditions, including the separation of families. The principal cause is no doubt the increased volume of wage payments due to the high level of employment and to overtime; but there is good reason for believing that, even if no allowance were made for the other causes I have mentioned, the increase of just over 60 per cent. in the note circulation since 1938 falls considerably short of the percentage increase in the volume of wage payments.